April 6, 2026
A religious settlement in KwaMaphumulo has been accused of urging followers to abandon antiretroviral treatment and other modern medicine, leave school and jobs, and rely instead on faith healing.
The allegations have garnered backlash from the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for health, Nomagugu Simelane.
“If it is true that any person is encouraging followers to stop their ARVs, that behaviour is dangerous and cannot be tolerated. It is, in effect, a way of killing people slowly,” Simelane said.
Such actions amounted to “nothing less than genocide against people living with HIV,” she said.
The allegations were first reported on by the Sunday Tribune and SABC last week.
The Tribune reported that about 100 followers at iKhaya Labafundi in Dabangu had left careers, studies and, in some cases, medical treatment to pursue a faith-led life.
The SABC reported that more than 50 people had joined the group and that members said they did not use clinics or hospitals because it went against their beliefs.
Both media houses also carried accounts from members who said they had stopped taking HIV medication after joining the group.
The Tribune reported that one woman said she stopped ARV treatment in 2024, while SABC News quoted another member as saying she had stopped taking chronic HIV medication after “a spiritual conviction”.
The Tribune also reported concerns from nearby residents over school-age children seen at the settlement instead of in class. congregation.
The reports identified the founder as Vusumuzi Sibiya, who described the settlement as a place for people “separated unto God” and said it sustained itself through farming. He rejected descriptions of the movement as a cult and said people had joined voluntarily.
Responding during the department’s Easter Weekend Church Wellness Outreach Programme at the UCCSA in uMzinyathi, eThekwini, Simelane said the provincial government was not seeking to interfere in matters of faith, but could not ignore reports that people may be abandoning life-saving treatment.
“[W]e have a duty to act when faced with allegations that people are being misled in ways that could cost lives,” she said.
Simelane said the allegations remained unproven in a legal sense, but warned that the conduct described in the reports would be catastrophic if true.
She said the province could not afford to return to the worst years of the epidemic.
“We all remember what HIV did to our communities before the arrival of ARVs, the funerals, the orphans, the wasting away. We will not take our people back to that dark time,” Simelane said.
“Stopping ARV treatment has serious consequences. It leads to viral rebound, deterioration of health, potential death, and increased risk of transmission to others. Spreading misinformation on this matter cannot be taken lightly.”
Simelane also appealed to churches to work with the health department rather than undercut public health messaging on HIV and AIDS.
“Pastors play a big role in our communities. They preach weekly to people who believe in them. If their message on HIV and AIDS is dwindling, that is dangerous. We are willing to train and equip pastors so that they can become our ambassadors in combating HIV and AIDS. The Bible says my people perish because of a lack of knowledge,” she said.
She called for sanctions if the allegations are proved. “Anyone who misleads people by telling them to abandon ARVs must face the full might of the law. That is tantamount to causing harm,” Simelane said.
She told people living with HIV to remain on treatment. “Prayer, rest, and medical faithfulness save lives.”
https://insideeducation.co.za/warning-issued-after-sect-allegedly-told-to-give-up-jobs-school-arvs/
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