Head of the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva says she fears for her life.
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva told News24 she had already consulted the police to seek protection after several religious leaders arrived at the commission with armed men.
“This is serious," she said.
"They have intimidated and threatened me. They have called me an Antichrist and a devil worshiper to their followers. What do they expect these people to do with this information?
“If they can get people to eat grass and petrol, how can they control them? Why do pastors come with armed men [to] a meeting? I am afraid of going home every night,” Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said.
She said the commission was forced to hire armed security after the armed guards of Prophet Paseka (Mboro) Motsoeneng’s Incredible Happenings apparently tried to force their way into a meeting.
“Our staff had to force these men out of the building. Our staff was unarmed. We knew then that we had to hire armed security. It’s chaotic every time these people are summoned to meet with us. It’s unprecedented for our offices to have armed guards. ”
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said Raboni Ministries' Pastor Lesego Daniels's men had also tried to force their way into a meeting but at that point, they had already hired "their own armed guards".
The commission is investigating the commercialisation of religion and the abuse of people's beliefs and has summoned several religious organisations to appear before them.
All those summoned to the hearings were required to produce their ordination certificate, the church registration certificate, bank statements and annual financial statements dating from 2012.
“The issue here is that these so-called religious leaders do not want to account. They want to intimidate us, but we can’t fold. All we are asking for is financial books. It can’t be that the country is controlled by a few."
Source: News24
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