The South African Church Defenders (SACD) is calling for the immediate suspension of the chairperson of the Commission for the Promotion of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission), Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva, pictured, pending a review.
Image: Jonisayi Maromo/IOL
The South African Church Defenders (SACD) are preparing to march through the Durban city centre on Thursday, aimed at opposing new regulations from the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Commission) that affect the Christian religious sector.
The action follows the CRL Commission's establishment of Section 22 Committees in October, which will roll out consultations across KwaZulu-Natal next month.
According to the CRL Commission, the Section 22 Committees was formed to address abuses, establish peer review councils, and promote self-regulation within the South African religious sector. In this particular case, the Christian religious sector.
Pastor Aaron Munsamy, chief coordinator of the KZN March, said the demonstration is meant to assert constitutional religious freedom and resist any form of state intervention in church affairs.
"While we support lawful accountability in cases of criminal conduct, we reject blanket regulatory frameworks that treat all churches as entities requiring state supervision," said Munsamy. He the SACD aims to assure the public that there will be no unconstitutional regulation of churches, as well as seeks meaningful engagement between authorities and Christian leaders.
The SACD is also seeking leadership within the CRL Commission that respects religious autonomy and the protection of Section 15 of the Constitution without compromise.
During the march, the SACD intends to present a memorandum highlighting their grave concerns regarding ongoing discussions around the regulation of religious institutions, particularly proposals previously advanced by the chairperson of the CRL Rights Commission, Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva.
"Our position is that any attempt to introduce state control mechanisms over churches, including registration requirements, peer-review committees, or government oversight structures, poses a threat to the constitutional right to freedom of religion.
"Our primary concerns relate to proposals and statements advocating for increased state regulation of churches, including oversight mechanisms that we believe threaten the constitutional right to freedom of religion. We view such proposals as an overreach into the internal governance, doctrine, and autonomy of Christian institutions," said Munsamy.
In addition to advocating for religious freedom, the memorandum demands the immediate suspension of Mkhwanazi-Xaluva pending a review, as well as her removal from office on the basis that her position and approach demonstrate bias against the independence of Christian churches.
It also calls for a parliamentary review of the CRL Commission’s direction regarding religious regulation.
"We believe the chairperson’s continued leadership undermines trust between the Commission and faith communities," he said.
The march is anticipated to draw thousands of participants, primarily church members from across the province.
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva defended the Commission’s initiative to form a Section 22 Committee as a mechanism to promote accountability among churches, adding that one of their responsibilities was to protect the Christian faith and communities who believe in Christianity.
She said the aim of the Section 22 Committee is to consult the Christian faith on self-regulation.
"How are they going to regulate themselves? One of the things that has been tabled is that there are enough laws in this country, issues of ethics are not a legal imperative. What is going wrong is the violation of people, for example when you make people eat grass and drink petrol, it may not be a crime but its an ethical issue.
"We are saying fellow Christians must form a council, like we have for doctors, nurses and social workers. What they are objecting to is that they don't want a peer review council. They don't want their peers to judge them on ethics," she said.
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said the constitution is very clear about protecting and promoting the rights of Christians, not of religious leaders.
"The SACD are saying they are defending churches, we are saying we are defending victims and potential victims.
"What is critical is that they are mobilising people to march based on untruths. They insist this is about state regulation. We are saying this has nothing to do with what you preach and how you preach. We are looking at the issue of ethics," said Mkhwanazi-Xaluva.
She added that the CRL Commission was the facilitator towards the protection of people.
"Ultimately we want to have peer review councils to oversee religious bodies and consist of senior religious leaders, where people can go and complain.
"It is now just a minority of Christians objecting to Section 22 and saying they don't want to be regulated and held accountable. This is all about ethics and accountability. While the march is all about 'leave us alone'," said Mkhwanazi-Xaluva.
The march is scheduled to take place on March 12 at 9am from King Dinuzulu Park to the Durban City Hall.