News 24
July 13, 2023
- KwaSizabantu has been instructed to apologise to its former members who spoke out about their maltreatment and abuse.
- The CRL Rights Commission could make no findings on allegations of criminality at the mission, referring victims and complainants to the police.
- It, however, found the teachings, principles, and rules of the mission are within the scope of freedom of religion.
KwaSizabantu Mission has been ordered by the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL) to apologise to its former members for the hurt caused" because of its practices.
On Thursday, the Chapter 9 institution released its long-awaited report into allegations of cultism and human rights abuses.
This was laid bare following a seven-month investigation by News24 into harrowing claims, including of sexual assault, physical and psychological abuse, as well as financial crimes.
No findings were made into criminal allegations, which include rape, grievous assault, corruption, and money laundering as it falls beyond the CRL's scope and mandate.
CRL chairperson Professor David Mosoma advised witnesses to lay criminal complaints, although he acknowledged one of the mission's rapists was serving a jail sentence as confirmed by KwaZulu-Natal police.
Similarly, employment issues related to KwaSizabantu's business enterprises such as aQuelle and Emseni Farming, were referred to the labour department and CCMA.
Ironically, Mosoma and his fellow commissioners all had bottles of aQuelle in front of them during their briefing.
He laughed when this was pointed out.
"We didn't know," Mosoma said, adding the water contract had been taken out prior.
The commission found, unsurprisingly, beatings indeed took place at KwaSizabantu.
And children were subjected to virginity testing, which the watchdog promotes as a "cultural" practice if done voluntarily and in a manner consistent with the Bill of Rights.
Both had, according to the mission, come to an end. The CRL commission accepted this.
According to the CRL's mandate, it could only investigate matters relating to cultural, religious and linguistic issues to "facilitate the resolution of friction".
"We can only comment on what we have investigated. We are making a determination on what we found.
"Our view is that we are not a court of law, hence some of the recommendations clearly indicate where justice could be sought if complainants feel strongly if they did. Some of the allegations we could not prove because we don’t have the instruments to do that; only the court can do that," Mosoma said.
It found however, the teachings, principles and rules of the mission were within the scope of freedom of religion.
READ | From KwaSizabantu outcast to Zuma's inauguration: 'Intombi Yomzulu' lived loud, says her sister
The mission, however, was instructed to apologise to the former members for the "hurt caused as a result of the practices" at KwaSizabantu.
Mosoma said reconciliation between the mission and former members, who were hurt and wronged by KwaSizabantu's practices, could be facilitated by the CRL "for the purposes of peace and unity".
Deputy chairperson of the CRL committee, Dr Sylvia Mamohapi Pheto, said the victims felt that KwaSizabantu mission destroyed good families and lives.
Pheto said:
One of the allegations was that many parents disowned their parents at the mission mainly because families were forced to choose between loyalty to the church and their families. Anyone who was charged by the mission was expelled, and members who stayed in the mission were not allowed to communicate or interact with that member of the family.
"They felt it was breaking up good families. Many children roaming around may be of the consequences of such families that were broken during that time," she added.
Pheto said that all the victims wanted was for KwaSizabantu to apologise, because some of them had never been allowed to say goodbye to relatives who had died.
The release of the report comes just over a week after witnesses approached the Gauteng High Court with a mandamus application.
They prayed for an order for the commission to publish its long overdue findings related to allegations of gross human and religious rights violations at one of the continent's oldest mission stations.
Three years had passed after the commission launched its probe into countless accusations related to "unbiblical and unchristian" teachings, cultism, and other malpractices.
But at the briefing on Thursday, commissioner Richard Botha said the Covid-19 pandemic had delayed many of the processes.
"Because of the restraints of the institution, it takes a lot because KwaSizabantu wasn’t the only investigation, and we had to make sure we gave it the proper attention it required, because there was a lot of media around it and there was a lot of heat around this," he said.
"We thought that time was rather important in the process."
Regarding the cult aspect, Botha said the commission had been able to establish that the mission did appear to be centralised in its control.
"They did have a bit of a persecution take when it came to the institution," he said.
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