JOHANNESBURG - The CRL Rights Commission is renewing calls for pastors to undergo vetting before leading congregations, warning that children and other vulnerable people could be at risk.
Commission chairperson Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva’s remarks follow the murder of a four-month-old baby in Atteridgeville in a case involving a self-proclaimed pastor.
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva says South Africa urgently needs a regulatory council to oversee religious leaders and provide the public with a formal channel to report suspicious behaviour.
She says religious leaders should undergo a screening process, particularly given their access to children and other vulnerable members of society.
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“For you to be a religious leader, there must be a process you go through. You must be vetted because there’ll be children where you’ll be working. We’ve seen in this instance that a child lost their life,” she said.
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva also raised concerns about people with criminal histories allegedly being able to move to another province, establish a church and operate without adequate checks.
She said there was no reliable way to determine how many churches or religious leaders operate in the country.
According to Mkhwanazi-Xaluva, religious leadership remains one of the few professions without an effective regulatory framework comparable to those governing doctors and lawyers.
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The commission has repeatedly called for a regulatory council that would allow members of the public to raise concerns about religious leaders and have complaints formally investigated.
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva says such a body would provide a formal mechanism for addressing complaints, rather than leaving communities without an established channel to report their concerns.