Do you have your gun with you or did you leave it in the car?" asked the deadpan security guard as I walked through the metal detectors.
The offices of the Commission for the Promotion of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities is the last place where one would expect such tight security.
The guard was joking, of course. But the threats facing the commission are no laughing matter. It has been compelled to install tight security measures.
Chairwoman Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva has a 24-hour security detail, and only this week she won a protection order against certain pastors who she believes want to harm her.
Earlier this year a man was sentenced to more than three years in jail for intimidation and crimen injuria after the commission laid charges.
Such actions sound more like the mafiosi or men from the Wild West than men of the cloth. And unlike other Chapter9 institutions, such as the public protector and the Electoral Commission, which have born the brunt of so much invective, Mkhwanazi-Xaluva's commission has been off the political radar. It has operated almost unnoticed since its inception. Not any more.It is now in the crosshairs. Not from your normal thuggish brigade or the political elite, but from the men who preach peace and fellowship every Sunday. They want to lynch the commission, especially its chairwoman.
If President Jacob Zuma, or the Guptas, or anybody unhappy with the public protector's findings had loudly set out to hurt or harm Thuli Madonsela, the whole country would have been up in arms. But Mkhwanazi-Xaluva has had to ward off intimidatory tactics from so-called pastors on her own, with the country hardly noticing or even caring.
The trigger was the commission's report, submitted to parliament last month, which recommended curbing the abuse of religion for commercial or personal gain. It has touched a raw nerve. It's threatening certain vested interests.
And the men of peace are up in arms. The proliferation of the so-called charismatic churches or the born-again movement seems to be a standout phenomenon of the new South Africa.
Such churches have spread like wildfire, recruiting new members and growing at the expense of mainstream churches. Abandoned buildings, private homes or shacks have been turned into places of worship without any regard for bylaws or health and safety provisions.
These churches seem to have tapped into something missing in the public psyche. It's almost as though people are yearning for something that freedom was supposed to provide but did not - like material things, money or self-esteem.The pastors, like shrewd businessmen, have spotted commercial opportunities. They sell everything from holy water, oil, sanitary towels and - wait for it - pads that are supposed to be a lucky charm. Prayers come at a price too, sometimes as high as R5000 a shot. Who said talking to God would be cheap?
Churches don't pay taxes as they are regarded as non-profit organisations. These establishments are therefore raking in millions through their commercial ventures without a cent going to the fiscus.
With the new democratic South Africa opening its borders to the continent, many so-called pastors have flocked to the country almost like a modern-day gold rush, and the precious metal this time is the gullibility of the South African public.
"It's a free-for-all," said Edward Mafadza, the commission's CEO. He estimates that billions of rands are leaving the country, all without the knowledge of the Reserve Bank.
"There's no monitoring of these churches or their activities. The money goes to individuals. People are making billions."
The commission wants, among other things, an umbrella body to monitor these churches; registration for all churches; and commercial activities to be separated from church matters so that they can be taxed. It also wants regular elections so members can be involved and consulted in all matters to do with their church.
But the government could have done better. It's basically been sleeping at the switch. For instance, the South African Revenue Service has not acted against churches that fail to comply with the Nonprofit Organisations Act by keeping proper accounting records and regularly submitting financial statements...