The traditional leader of the Qwabe Traditional Authority Inkosi Makhosini Qwabe has inteverned in the KwaMaphumulo-based religious sect whose members have abandoned work, studies and family life to pursue a faith-based, communal farming lifestyle. Inkosi Qwabe ordered the leader of the sect Vusumusi Sibiya and his followers to leave the area. HIV-positive members of the sect have reportedly stopped taking antiretroviral treatment, placing their faith in divine healing.
Image: DOCTOR NGCOBO Independent Newspapers
The KwaMaphumulo-based religious sect, eKhaya Labafundi bakaJesu (Home of Jesus’ Disciples), has effectively been shut down after a local traditional leader ordered its leader, Vusumuzi Sibiya, to leave the area earlier this week.
The directive was issued by the area’s traditional authority, Inkosi Makhosini Qwabe, following growing concern over the sect’s activities. The Sunday Tribune has been tracking developments since its sister publication, Isolezwe Ngempelasonto, first broke the story last month.
The eviction order comes in the wake of an oversight visit by the Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights Commission (CRL) and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Social Development.
During a visit to Dabangu village, where the sect occupied a large tract of land, officials removed 19 children who were living on the premises with their parents. The children were reportedly not allowed to attend school.
One of the members of the Ikhaya Labafundi bakaJesu (Home of Jesus' Disciples) religious in KwaMaphumulo who have been instructed to leave the land by the traditional leader of Qwabes Inkosi Makhosini Qwabe.
Image: DOCTOR NGCOBO Independent Newspapers
Authorities have since raised serious concerns about the sect’s operations, including the apparent isolation of members from wider society. Sibiya, the group’s self-proclaimed leader, was summoned to a traditional council meeting to account for his activities and was subsequently instructed to vacate the land.
Inkosi Qwabe said he had been unaware of the extent of the sect’s presence on the property.
“The council has told Sibiya to instruct all his congregants to leave the church and return to where they came from. I have sent other senior members of the council to go to Sibiya and the congregants to convey the same message. Sibiya violated the law. We were unaware of this violation and would have intervened long ago if we had known,” he said.
Some of the children who had been loitering without attending school at the religious sect’s smallholding, iKhaya Labafundi bakaJesu (Home of Jesus’ Disciples), in Dabangu village, KwaMaphumulo, were removed this week by officials from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Social Development following an outcry from various sectors.
Image: DOCTOR NGCOBO Independent Newspapers
The sect first drew widespread attention after reports emerged that HIV-positive members had stopped taking antiretroviral medication, relying instead on prayer. Further concerns included children being denied access to education, and adult members abandoning jobs, businesses and families to join the group.
Inkosi Qwabe also called on law enforcement to conduct a raid on the premises.
In previous interviews, Sibiya has maintained that all followers joined voluntarily.
The sect has faced mounting scrutiny from CRL Commission chairperson Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva, KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane and Social Development MEC Mbali Shinga.
The sect maintained a subsistence lifestyle, eating primarily from their own harvests and the livestock—cattle, pigs, and chickens—kept on their large plot of land.