CRL Commission sets up committee to investigate church abuse

The Cultural, Religious and Linguistic (CRL) Rights Commission has set up a committee comprising religious leaders, to look into ongoing abuses in churches.

This follows its investigative hearings regarding the commercialisation of religion and abuse of people’s belief systems.

The Commission says it continues to receive complaints of abuse including of a sexual nature from congregants by religious leaders.

The committee will conduct extensive research in provinces around the country and produce a report with recommendations for a legal framework.

CRL Rights Commission Chairperson Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva says, “The issues of concern are around the abuse of people’s beliefs. We are saying when we in fact that in you are in a religious setting, you are vulnerable. So, some pastors end up abusing people, they end up having inappropriate kind of activities going on in their churches. And this particular body should help the nation to come up with a structure or whatever that will say here is the road map to solve all this problem that are happening in these settings.”