The disturbing findings by the Special Investigating Unit concerning systemic corruption in the department of home affairs neither call for, nor justify, state regulation of religion, according to the Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA) organisation.
A SIU report has described how the immigration system was treated “as a marketplace”, where permits and visas are allegedly sold for cash, officials abuse their authority, and verification systems are bypassed.
The report also described how foreigners such as Malawian pastor and fugitive from justice Shepherd Bushiri, and Nigerian televangelist pastor Timothy Omotoso, fabricated documentation and misused networks to secure fraudulent immigration status.
FOR SA said these were serious findings and demanded accountability, reform and integrity within the state.
It said within hours of the SIU report’s release, the CRL Rights Commission suggested that the findings reinforced its long-standing call for the registration of pastors and the creation of a professional regulatory body for religious practitioners.
“That leap is misplaced. The SIU report exposes corruption inside home affairs,” said Michael Swain, executive director of FOR SA.
He said the probe did not expose a structural failure of religion. The solution to corruption in home affairs is to fix home affairs, not to place faith under state control.
He said nowhere does the SIU recommend regulating religion or call for licensing pastors.
“Nowhere does it suggest that a professional body for clergy would have prevented bribery inside the department.”
FOR SA said the CRL had again attempted to compare religious practitioners with regulated professions such as doctors, lawyers and accountants. It said this comparison was fundamentally flawed.
FOR SA said religious freedom has never been a shield for criminal conduct.
“Those who break the law are subject to the full force of the criminal justice system. South Africa already has extensive legal tools to deal with fraud, sexual offences, human trafficking, immigration violations and financial misconduct.”
FOR SA said where parts of the religious community wish to professionalise, they already do so voluntarily.
Bodies such as the Association of Christian Religious Practitioners and the South African Community of Faith-Based Fraternals and Federations operate as professional bodies for those who choose to affiliate.
They establish standards, designations, codes of ethics and disciplinary mechanisms without coercion.
“That is the correct model in a constitutional democracy: voluntary association, not state-enforced uniformity.”
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