In a swift intervention, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Social Development (DSD) has rescued 12 children from a religious compound where leaders allegedly forced followers to abandon modern medicine, education and employment.
MEC Mbali Shinga and the Cultural, Religious and Linguistic (CRL) Rights Commission Chairperson, Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva, led the oversight visit to the iKhaya Labafundi Baka Jesu Chrestu mission.
The raid followed alarming reports that the unregulated group was systematically stripping congregants of their constitutional rights in favour of a radical, isolated lifestyle.
Removed children
Departmental officials said in a statement they immediately removed the children, who originate from three different provinces, after determining the compound was an unfit environment and that they were not attending school.
Social workers have already placed 11 of the minors into Child and Youth Care Centres (CYCCs) for protection.
Shinga cited section 150(1)(f) of the Children’s Act, asserting that the state must intervene when religious practices jeopardise a child’s health and future.
She confirmed that there are approximately 53 members at the compound. A total of 19 children were taken into state custody, with 12 from various congregants and seven children of the church leader, Reverend Vusumuzi Sibiya.
The department clarified that the minors are being provided for with plans to enrol them in schools, rather than simply being relocated.
Additionally, the government is moving to cancel South African Social Security Agency grant payments for parents at the mission who no longer have their children in their care.
Shinga emphasised that these individuals are ineligible to continue receiving child-related financial aid now that the state is directly supporting the minors.
“We cannot sit idle while leaders compromise the rights of children under the guise of religious freedom,” Shinga stated.
The cost of Faith: careers and degrees cast aside
The mission’s “anti-modern” philosophy has successfully persuaded followers to burn bridges with their past lives.
Testifying during the oversight, Ntokozo Mkhize said he abandoned a computer engineering degree at the University of Cape Town to join the compound.
Ironically, while the mission rejects modern living, it uses modern tools for recruitment. Mkhize revealed that a 2025 podcast by Reverend Sibiya drew him into the fold.
Officials noted that many of the 50 congregants have similarly quit jobs and walked away from chronic medical treatments to live on the Dabangu site.
The rejection of modern medicine
The most life-threatening aspect of the mission’s doctrine is its total rejection of healthcare.
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva expressed horror at reports of congregants being encouraged to stop taking chronic medication in favour of prayer.
Reverend Sibiya defended his stance during the inspection, claiming he personally experienced a “divine healing” from a critical illness.
He maintained that faith alone suffices for recovery, a claim the CRL Commission warned could lead to “unchecked human rights violations” and preventable deaths.
Unregistered and unaccountable
Investigations confirmed that the iKhaya Labafundi mission holds no legal registration with any South African authority.
This lack of oversight has allowed the group to operate in the shadows, creating what the CRL described as a “cult-like” environment where leaders suppress questioning, said KZN’s DSD.
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva urged the reverend to register the church immediately, warning that the state will enforce accountability to protect congregants from harmful internal practices.
However, he said that the church is registered in heaven, according to reports from Sowetan.
Path forward
MEC Shinga emphasised that the government will not allow unregulated religious establishments to undermine social stability. She said the DSD plans to work closely with the removed children’s families to reintegrate them into safe, stable environments.
