President Cyril Ramaphosa with Pastor Mpfariseni Mukhuba, chairperson of SACD and her husband, Prof. Theophilus Mukhuba at Mondays meeting in Luthuli House in Johannesburg
Image: SACD Facebook Page
More than 10,000 people marching through Durban last Thursday has forced national government to take notice, with church leaders now meeting ANC top brass at Luthuli House to demand the scrapping of a controversial religious oversight body.
The protest, organised by the South Africa Church Defenders (SACD), centres on growing fears that the Cultural, Religious and Linguistic (CRL) Communities Rights Commission is pushing toward state regulation of religion. Church leaders warn this could eventually allow government authorities to decide who can preach, which churches can open, and how churches should operate.
On Monday, SACD chairperson Pastor Mpfariseni Mukhuba, her husband Prof. Theophilus Mukhuba, and other religious leaders met with the ANC leadership. Their key demands: the scrapping of the CRL's Section 22 Committee and the resignation of commission chairperson Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva.
For local church leaders, the meeting represents a significant shift.
Phoenix pastor, Aaron Munsamy, who serves as SACD's KZN provincial coordinator, believes the Durban march changed the game.
"There were previous marches held in Cape Town and Gauteng," Munsamy said.
"But I believe the magnitude of the turnout from supporters in KZN has changed the narrative. Government has finally got involved and maybe now we can sort this matter out."
Munsamy stressed that while wrongdoing in religious spaces must be addressed, existing laws already provide mechanisms to prosecute criminal behaviour without placing the church under state control.
"The South African Constitution governs the CRL, which is there to protect and promote religion," he explained. "As a church we are also governed by the Constitution, so we cannot break the rules of the Constitution. Therefore, with the Constitution, we are already governed by a body to keep criminality and other wrongdoings in check."
He also questioned the motives behind Mkhwanazi-Xaluva's push for regulation.
"Is she trying to make a point that she can do what she wants? Well, we will make sure that she does not get that opportunity," he said.
Pastor Aaron Munsamy addressing the crown of Christian marchers from the step of City Hall in Durban on Thursday.
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Dr. Jonathan Naidoo of AFM Miracle Tabernacle in Chatsworth said he had never witnessed such unity among people.
"I had never seen such a gathering of believers in my 46 years of being in the ministry," he said. "It was a wonderful sight to see that many Christians from all walks of life and denominations from across KZN be a part of this march. There is strength in this unity. The church is no longer sleeping. We are awake."
Naidoo also raised concern for smaller congregations that could be disproportionately affected by new regulations.
"We have 1.4 million in our denomination and we are fully capable of taking care of ourselves. We have done so for years," he said. "But we must also remember the smaller churches that gather in classrooms in schools across our nation. What happens to them? I can tell you they will close. We will not back down from this fight because this fight is for us all."
Dr Jonathan Naidoo of AFM Miracle Tabernacle in Chatsworth at the Church Defenders march held in Durban on Thursday.
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Beyond public protests and political meetings, SACD is also pursuing legal action. Papers are currently being exchanged in a Gauteng High Court case challenging the lawfulness of the CRL Rights Commission.