Assaulted pastor is R100K richer after out-of-court settlement
Although the apology came at a price, Pastor Ron Rambedu says he preaches about peace and forgiveness at his church and was prompted to lead by example.
Pastor Ron Rambebu and Johan Bothma smoked the peace pipe after settling the assault case out of court. Photo: Video screenshot/Twitter.
Local pastor Ron Rambebu, who was a victim of assault earlier this year, has accepted a hefty apology from the perpetrator, Johan Bothma.
Rambedu bagged R100,000 as a gesture of apology from Bothma, who attacked him for wearing an EFF cap at a service station on Ontdekkers Road on June 21. The whole incident was captured on CCTV footage, sparking an uproar online, reports Roodepoort Record.
After a case was opened against Bothma, he handed himself over to the police and allowed the law to take its course. A very angry Rambedu at the time wished for Bothma to be denied bail; however, as a man of God, he later had to consider Bothma’s apology.
ALSO READ: Man who allegedly assaulted pastor for wearing EFF cap turns himself in
The pastor confirmed that the matter was settled out of court.
“His lawyers approached the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) asking for the matter to be settled out of court,” he said. This meant the charges of assault and crimen injuria against Bothma would be dropped.
Although the apology came at a price, Rambedu, who said he preached about peace and forgiveness at his church, was prompted to lead by example.
Their moment of smoking the peace pipe was recently immortalised on video in a courtroom, where Bothma apologised and shook hands with his former victim.
Pastor @ronnylutendo, who was assaulted for wearing a @EFFSouthAfrica cap in June, has accepted an apology and R100 000 from his attacker Johan Bothma. @ronnylutendo has even gifted Bothma with the @EFFSouthAfrica cap that provoked the attack. #EFFPastor @Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/rKh0JJuFLR
— Hitekani Magwedze (@HitekaniMag) October 31, 2019
While social media users weren’t convinced about Bothma’s apology, Rambedu defended Bothma by saying: “You can’t please everyone, especially on social media. If someone apologises, it’s acceptable – whether they mean it or not, it’s between them and God”.
When asked how he plans to spend his money, he said he was going to donate a portion of the money to his organisation, a charity, and also plough some into his church, which he mentioned required touch-ups to its infrastructure.
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