A pastor’s wife allegedly burnt her husband’s car to ashes because she suspects that he is having an affair with another woman. Pastor Humbulani Edward Mashapha (38) of the Zion Apostolic Church in Sabbath watched in horror as his Mazda 323 went up in flames after his wife, Tirhani Jane Manganye (37), had set it on fire at their home in Haluvhimbi village, north of Thohoyandou, last week.

Ms Manganye faces a charge of malicious damage to property and she briefly appeared at the Thohoyandou magistrate’s court on Thursday. Pastor Mashapha said he could not understand why a woman he loved so much could have done this to him. "She was the apple of my eye and I loved her dearly. As Christians, we are supposed to live an exemplary life but her actions have also degraded the beautiful name of our congregation."

However, the pastor agreed that there were marital problems in the family, but he denied having an affair with a church member. "It is not good to hang our dirty linen in public, but we had a serious family problem that erupted two years ago. We have been trying to solve it, without success. I did not have any affair with another woman as she claims."

The pastor explains how his wife set the car on fire: "I had just switched on the engine of my car, when my wife immediately switched it off and took the keys from the ignition. She then told me that she would teach me a lesson, because I was having an affair with another woman. As I was still surprised, she stabbed all the tyres with a sharp object. I took my Bible and headed for church, but before I had walked 100m from my home, I heard a big banging sound."

"I nearly fainted when I looked back, realizing that my car was in flames. She further boasted that she would teach me a lesson while the car was on fire."

The pastor says the fire was so fierce that it was almost impossible to extinguish. "The car burnt itself out. The police later came and Jane was arrested."

Mashapha said the police officers who arrested his wife told him that he would be informed when Jane appeared in court. "I was surprised when she came back home on Thursday afternoon and started taking all her belongings. I am worried because I was not told about the court appearance and I am not sure if she was out on bail or a warning. I had to apply for a court interdict to stop her from setting foot in my house again."

Asked if he would forgive her if she asked for forgiveness, the pastor said: "I have nothing to do with her and I don’t want to hear anything about her. She must just accept that our love is over."

When contacted for details, Jane said she would not be comfortable if her story were published in the newspaper. When we asked more questions about the burning of the car, she became emotional and said: "Go to the person who gave you my contact numbers for clarifications, not me." She then put the phone down.

Supt Ailwei Mushanamadi of the Limpopo police confirmed the incident. "The woman has been charged with malicious damage to property and she has already appeared in court. We will keep the community informed about this matter, because there is much public interest in it."