CRL Rights Commission Chairperson Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva
MAPHUMULO - Allegations that followers abandoned their jobs, homes, and even stopped taking medication have placed a KwaZulu-Natal church under the spotlight.
The controversy surrounding the Ikhaya Labafundi mission has reignited debate over the regulation of religious institutions in South Africa.
Government has raised serious concerns, despite the church insisting it's doing nothing wrong.
In a secluded part of KwaZulu-Natal, a group of people has formed a close-knit community under Vusimuzi Sibiya's leadership.
But authorities flagged several issues during an inspection of the Ikhaya Labafundi Mission.
The Social Development Department removed 19 children after it was discovered that they were not attending school.
Sibiya is the father of seven of them.
The department says it is working to place them back into schools, while also moving to terminate Sassa grants for parents who no longer care for their children.
There are also concerns that some members have stopped taking chronic medication.
CRL Rights Commission Chairperson Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said these developments have strengthened calls for the regulation of churches.
“Our major issue as the commission is the protection of the rights of congregants who are here. The Constitution says you protect people even from themselves. We have been preaching this gospel, so to speak, as the CRL Rights Commission; we have said to the Reverend Sibiya, that what's happening here is unconstitutional because the right to life of the people who live here is at risk.
"We have clearly said to him that he has actually given us the inaudible as the CRL Commission to push even harder for a regulation that will create a council for Christians. You see, if we had a council for Christians now, they would have been here a month ago, and they would have told the Reverend Sibiya that what you are doing here is out of order," she said.
Reverend Sibiya said he only answers to God.
"We have got laws that we are guided by, and we are also aware that there is a constitution in this country, but actually, we are not contending with the laws of this country. The challenge comes when there is a clash between the two laws: God’s kingdom laws and the laws of this country; that’s where the problem starts. And as we are here, we will obey the laws of the living God.”