New committee zooms in on misconduct, abuse in churches

The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL) Rights Commission has established a committee aimed at introducing a peer review mechanism to address misconduct and abuse at religious institutions.

The chapter nine institution said the move was to tighten oversight in of SA’s religious sector, which comes in the wake of the acquittal of Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso’s on charges that include rape, sexual assault, and human trafficking.

This action also stems from the commission’s 2017 report, which uncovered the widespread exploitation and commercialisation of religion after hearings held between 2015 and 2017. 

The commission’s chairperson, Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva, said the initiative was a long-overdue response to systemic failures in sacred spaces. “It’s not about regulating religion, but [implementing] codes of conduct to make churches safe and decent. There is unbecoming, inappropriate and indecent behaviour happening in churches in SA,” she said

The committee, chaired by Prof Musa Xulu, an expert on religion, will begin work in a month and is expected to report back within 40 days. Additional members will be appointed in due course, and the commission will serve as the committee’s secretariat.

Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said Xulu has already started working with research to guide the committee’s work, adding that this was prompted by new cases of many people experiencing different forms of abuse at the hands of religious leaders.

“We are receiving complaints continuously from the religious sector in terms of what people are experiencing — illegal, inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour. One was saying the pastor doesn’t allow cellphones,” she said.

There had also been an increase in “relatives of victims who are complaining that the victims themselves do not see themselves as victims”. She said when people's faith “gets exploited and abused, it takes time to realise there is something wrong”.

Xulu said the committee will do a lot of research and comparative studies on what is happening in the religious sector in other countries. “It's not just an SA problem, it’s becoming a world problem – an issue of spiritual transgression,” he said.

The committee's priorities include: 

• Coming up with mechanisms to deal with issues in the religious sector. 

• Undertaking provincial and national consultations with leaders in the religious sector. 

• Developing strategies to deal with and curb spiritual transgressions. 

• Make recommendations for legal and legislated frameworks; and 

• Conduct extensive research to assess the scale and effect of abuse and harmful practices on people’s beliefs.

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