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The Bishop Zondo trail has largely disappeared from headlines with all the new horrors that dominate our daily discourse, but the sex trial of Rivers of Living Waters Church leader Bishop Bafana Stephen Zondo is far from over.

Bishop Zondo, in case you forgot, is facing several sex-related crimes with seven victims already having testified before the court since the start of proceedings at the end of 2021. One of Zondo’s alleged victims was just eight years old at the time of her alleged rape in 1980, so this vile business has been dragging towards a conclusion for nearly four decades now.

The ‘marathon sex trail’ in the Pretoria High Court has now heard how holy oil from the church was alleged to have traces of human blood. Pitso Ramothubeli, the former host of a radio show that exposes fraudulent churches and pastors, made the claims in court.

Zondo’s lawyer questioned Ramothubeli about allegations made on his show in 2012 that holy water from the Rivers of Living Water Church, which Zondo established, contains blood. Ramothubeli, also known as Mabochobocho, said that the church’s sacred oil, which was red, was the source of the alleged blood.

Zondo’s lawyer on the other hand has accused Mabochobocho of administering the show and encouraging guests to engage in inappropriate comments regarding his client, and running a smear campaign against the pastor.

One of the top criminal advocates in the country, Piet Pistorius, has told the court on numerous occasions that Zondo will testify that his alleged victims are “all out to either extort money from him or that they blacken his name so that they could start their own church”.

Zondo’s defence seems to be grounded in the fact that he is rich, and the allegations are a way to get money out of him. To add to this defence, Pistorius said in January, “I put it to you that jealousy of the accused and his church is rife,