Churchgoers march to the Union Buildings, object to CRL's Section 22 Committee
Churchgoers from different churches marched to the Union Buildings on Wednesday to raise their objections to the Section 22 Committee established by the CRL Commission.
Image: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
Hundreds of Christians from different churches marched to the Union Buildings in Tshwane on Wednesday to raise their objections to the establishment of an oversight Section 22 Committee by the Council for Religious and Faith-Based Organisations' (CRL).
The committee has been described by the CRL as a peer-review mechanism to promote accountability and curb abuse within religious organisations. However churches, Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA) and political party ActionSA have all raised their concerns about the committee.
The protesting churchgoers have said that the committee infringes on their religious freedom and they also called for the immediate dismissal of CRL chairperson Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva.
Addressing the crowd, Pastor Mpfariseni Mukhuba of Unity Fellowship Church, an organiser, said “churches are under attack”.
“We are the church defenders, and we will not let Christianity die in South Africa.”
She said that the time for silence is over, adding that “if we keep silent now we will perish and that is why today we are marching. We are saying down with the anti-Christ agenda, down!”
Mukhuba accused Mkhwanazi-Xaluva of attempting to destroy the church through the Section 22 Committee, a peer-review mechanism she believes undermines church autonomy.
CRL deputy chairperson Prince George Mahlangu dismissed claims that the committee is bent on infringing on the rights and freedom of Christians.
He explained that the committee comprised the religious leaders representing close to 45 million Christians in the country and that the commission is not even part of it except for the secretariat role.
“Section 22 will go to all the provinces and will engage the religious leaders. It is really a peer review mechanism from our side,” he said.
He explained that the committee was established to handle complaints of abuse from congregants, citing the case of Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso who faced multiple rape accusations and was subsequently acquitted.
Mahlangu stated that the CRL is implementing parliament's recommendation for self-regulation of churches, noting that the Section 22 committee specifically applies to the Christian sector.
In a media statement, CRL said: “In response to these recommendations from the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs’ Portfolio Committee regarding self-regulation in the Christian sector, the Commission invoked Section 22 of the CRL Rights Commission Act to establish a Section 22 Committee, which has thus far been constituted and comprises Christian religious leaders from various umbrella organisations, including, inter alia, mainline, independent, charismatic, and pentecostal churches.”
Mahlangu said: “What do you do when a religious pastor has transgressed? We came up with a body that will come up with a code of conduct and not to regulate religion. The freedom of religion is enshrined in the Constitution. Nobody will regulate religion,” he said.
Regarding the call for the CRL chairperson to go, he said: “We are in the public eye and we can not please everybody.”
Reverend Kenneth Meshoe, founder of the African Christian Democratic Party, said Mkhwanazi-Xaluva must “take her unwashed hands off the church”.
He declared that attempts to undermine the church would fail, saying: “Today is a day of victory for us.”
Meshoe also criticised the CRL for referring to church leaders as “religious practitioners,” insisting that titles such as preachers, pastors, prophets, and bishops are more accurate.