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FILE | Church pews.
More than 50 people have left their families, jobs, and in some cases medical treatment to join Ekhaya Labafundi bakaJehova in KwaMaphumulo, north of Durban.
The group describes itself as a congregation dedicated to serving Christ. Members live full-time on the property and do not leave to socialise or access public services such as clinics and hospitals, saying it goes against their beliefs.
The congregation was founded by Vusumuzi Sibiya, who refers to himself as a Messenger.
Sibiya says, “So the criteria that you are using here, to those who do not know, what must I do in order to be accepted in this place. The rules and regulations, this place is for the people that are separated unto God only. People who came out of the system of this world, who follow the command of Jesus Christ. We are a holy nation, a nation separated unto God.”
He adds, “How do we sustain ourselves? We do farming here, with crops and farming with animals. So we sustain ourselves with farming.”
Sibiya says the group has been labelled a cult but rejects the description.
“I don’t blame them, you see. If people call us a cult, actually, there are so many people who call us by that name. So, Jesus spoke about that… if they call you with all sorts of names, do not worry, rejoice,” he says.
Some members say they have made significant personal sacrifices to join the congregation.
Fifty-year-old Sibongile Mkhwanazi says she stopped taking chronic HIV medication after joining the group.
“What brought me here is the word that’s being preached… one day the holy spirit asked me why am I still taking the pills because I am not living because of them, that’s when I stopped using them,” she says.
Bongikazi Mvani, a former pharmacy student, says she left her studies to fully dedicate herself to her faith.
“As a pharmacy student and also a born-again Christian, I got convinced that if I am serving the Lord… I want to give myself fully unto God,” she says.
Sibiya says children in the congregation are not enrolled in formal schools but are taught basic skills within the community.
Authorities have not commented on the practices of the group.
