Ignoring crimes of churches

KwaSizabantu Mission – The Place Where People are Helped.

The name says all the right things. The vision is spot-on. But the allegations that have surfaced are nothing short of horrific.

As a woman of Christian faith, the stories doing the rounds makes one wonder about the intentions and, indeed, the very foundation of the church.

This, I have come to realise, is the result of the relaxed eye that monitors conduct in churches in our country.

The church can never be above the law, so what atrocities have we missed for 50-plus years? Have we learned nothing from the Mancoba Sevens Angels, The Mission Church of Christ and The Ark?

When do we allow the right to practice belief not to overshadow the right to not be dehumanised?

When we do extend ourselves to be keepers of our brothers/sisters to prevent their demise? When does government not turn a blind eye to curry favour with church leadership?

Religious freedom has seen itself mutate to religious manipulation over the years.

While it has been said that the faith of some is stupidity to others, it should never add to the gender-based violence statistics.

And as televangelism gains traction and more and more self-proclaimed prophets and bishops come to the fore, the ones so desperate to do right by their gods find themselves at the mercy of the manipulators, liars and schemers.

While government may “condemn this in the strongest possible terms”, there remains a need to do more, to get on the ground and be visible enough to protect the most vulnerable.

The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities has proven to be without the necessary bite necessary for this – we certainly need more.

Church leaders are so busy playing their power games that they have little time for the actual problems in the community.

The church has become poor morally, from the head all the way down to the naive members.

Kekeletso Nakeli-Dhliwayo.

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