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Bothma testifies before the CRL Rights Commission Thursday about his years of abuse at the KwaSizabantu Mission.
- After being implicated in sexual assault allegations, Ruth Combrink said she was “horrified by the personal attack” against her and her sister, Elisabeth Vermaak.
- On Thursday, the CRL Rights Commission heard testimony from Marietjie Bothma, who said she was forced to “suck on the breasts” of Combrink and Vermaak.
- Combrink said the allegations had been refuted by a housekeeper, babysitter and Bothma’s “only biological brother.”
The controversial KwaSizabantu Mission spokeswoman Ruth Combrink says she is “appalled” by the allegations of sexual assault against her and her sister, Elisabeth Vermaak, and calls them a “personal attack.”
READ | Daughters of the KwaSizabantu leader implicated in allegations of sexual assault
Both Combrink and Vermaak are daughters of mission leader Erlo Stegen and were implicated in the heartbreaking sexual assault testimony before the CRL Rights Commission on Thursday.
Combrink acted as a spokesperson for the mission and as general manager for the popular bottled water company aQuellé.
The commission was investigating allegations of abuse at KwaSizabantu following a News24 post that detailed allegations of sexual assault, physical and psychological abuse, as well as financial crimes at the mission.
Marietjie Bothma testified at the commission about years of abuse in KwaSizabantu that, she said, started in the Stegen family home.
Bothma said she was forced to “suck on the breasts” of Combrink and Vermaak as a child, who told her that they were playing a game and that they were “playing moms.”
“When we talked about it, they used to punish me by putting pepper water in my mouth, I was just a child, [younger] out of five, “Botha sobbed.
However, on Friday Combrink said the mission “rejected the allegations” and “vigorously refutes them.”
Combrink said she was “appalled at the personal attack on her and her sister,” as Bothma had always been treated as part of the family, according to a statement released by the mission.
The mission said the allegations had been “refuted” by a “longtime housekeeper”, a nanny and Bothma’s “only biological relative”, Anita van der Watt.
According to the mission, Van der Watt testified before an affidavit, in which he stated: “The childhood memories at Reverend Stegen’s house are among the best I have … In the last 34 years (of being in the ), I have never seen any leader of the Mission physically, mentally or emotionally abuse anyone. The people of the Mission have never oppressed me. The Mission has never forced me to confess my sins. “
Combrink further said that the mission wanted the truth to be heard and the alleged victims to receive healing.
He said that there was evidence indicating that these allegations were being pushed by a part of the family that separated from the mission, in an attempt to discredit the leadership and values of the KwaSizabantu Mission to gain power over the mission’s business interests. ” . has been developed with such success. “
The CRL was expected to continue its hearings next week.
READ ALSO | ‘Beaten until they peed in his pants’ – Former KwaSizabantu member testifies at CRL Commission
