Religious institutions lack proper oversight – commission

The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) says the Christian religious sector has been fraught with problematic behaviour and also suffers from a lack of proper oversight.

The commission has since released a report exposing widespread abuse in SA’s religious sector, whose findings stem from investigative hearings held between 2015 and 2017 into the commercialisation of religion and the exploitation of belief systems.

In a media briefing this morning, CRL chairperson Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said the Omotoso case outlined well the issues.

“Anyone can open a church or religious institution or organisation,” she said.

“When there are issues, there is nowhere to report those,” said Mkhwanazi-Xaluva, who also revealed that the sector suffers from a lack of proper oversight.

One of the churches mentioned in the report is Angel Ministry in Eastern Cape, which the commission termed an extremist church that claims to have divine powers. The church allegedly also claims that education is wrong because Satan has taken over schools.

The 60-page report outlines several challenges, including widespread noncompliance with existing laws. It also revealed that many churches and religious organisations are not registered with the department of social development and also fail to submit annual reports as required.

“There are no codes of conduct and the lack of accountability has allowed the proliferation of institutions that, in many instances, operate as businesses,” Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said.

In light of the findings, the commission will host a press conference to introduce a peer review mechanism aimed at tightening regulation in the sector.

The proposed system is intended to provide a structured process for oversight, ethical compliance and a channel for reporting misconduct.

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