Religious figures in the North West on Thursday “gave the nod to criticism” of the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural‚ Religious and Linguistic Communities being a “charade to humiliate and publicly ridicule targeted church leaders”.

The “pastors‚ under the auspices of the Mahikeng Ministers Fellowship (MMF)”‚ said in a statement that “the issuing of summonses against religious communities has displayed a heavy-handed and misguided approach”.

MMF chairperson Apostle Zandisile Reginald Mpame said he shared the “view of the African National Congress Chaplaincy that the commission’s controversial public posturing and confrontational statements to the media undermine its primary objective”.

“We agree wholly with the chaplaincy that‚ though the commission may have powers of subpoena‚ its main mandate and primary duties are to promote peaceful coexistence between religious cultural and linguistic groups in the country‚ educate‚ protect‚ and roll out awareness campaigns – and not merely to be abrasive‚” said Mpame.

The MMF warned that “the commission’s antagonistic posture has the potential to do more harm to the ANC’s election campaign than all opposition parties put together”.

Said Mpane: “The unprecedented uproar that might emerge across the country when leaders of over 4000 African Independent Churches combined with fast-growing born-again churches to constitute the majority of Christians that make up 80% of the population are abrasively confronted in this fashion on the eve of an election is frightening.”