The centre of Durban was yesterday filled with Christians — many dressed in yellow and holding placards — participating in a mass provincial march for religious freedom hosted by South African Church Defenders (SACD).
“The KZN Provincial Christian March was nothing short of powerful and historic. This was the Church rising in unity, standing boldly, and contending for the faith. Christians came out in their numbers to make their voices heard and to defend religious freedom,” states SACD on its Facebook page.
Pastors, church leaders, and Christians from across KwaZulu-Natal and other areas participated in the march from King Dinuzulu Park to the Durban City Hall where a memorandum was presented to provincial and city leaders. The memorandum, addressed to the premier of KwaZulu-Natal, the KZN member of the Council for Cooperative Affairs and Governance, and the mayor of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, calls for “immediate action to safeguard religious freedoms and ensure that no institution or individual undermines the rights guaranteed to South Africans by the Constitution”. The document outlines previous initiatives, including petitioning President Cyril Ramaphosa, the SACD has taken to oppose threats to religious freedom it says are being posed by the CRL Rights Commission and its chairperson Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva.
“Despite these formal petitions and public demonstrations, no corrective action has been taken to date. Ms Mkhwanazi-Xaluva remains in office and continues to make statements that SACD views as disrespectful, insulting and demeaning toward pastors, the Church, and the Christian faith,” says the memorandum.
In an interview with Khwezi Radio after yesterday’s march, SACD chairperson Pastor Mukhuba said that no person can control the work of the Holy Spirit and that churches will continue to regulate themselves as they have always done.
“We will not allow our rights — the freedom of religion, the freedom of worship, the freedom of association, and the freedom of expression — to be taken away from us,” she said.
She added: “We want to preach freely what we find in the Scriptures. The Bible says that if people sin, they must repent, because the wages of sin is death. We must be free to preach that message.
“We do not want a situation like in China where pastors are told what they may or may not preach. We have heard of pastors being told that they must preach certain things that the government approves.”
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The march was a powerful moment as Christians across KwaZulu-Natal came together in unity to stand for religious freedom and to contend for the faith. It was a clear demonstration that the Church is awake, united, and ready to defend its constitutional rights.
Watch the interview and hear what was shared about this important moment for the Christian community.
Clean English Translation
Greetings to everyone who is watching.
We greet you in the name of Jesus. I am Pastor Mkuba speaking on behalf of the African Church. We are gathered here today because we want to defend our rights — the rights that were given to us by our forefathers and which are protected by the Constitution of South Africa.
We are here because we have heard that the CRL Rights Commission wants to bring regulations over the churches and over religious institutions. According to our Constitution, the Constitution of Mzansi, South Africa, those rights belong to us. They protect our freedom and they must be respected. There must be respect for the Constitution.
That is why today we have gathered here, coming from different churches and from different places, to say: if someone tries to regulate the church, that person must first understand the mandate they have been given. They cannot take authority that they do not have and begin to divide or control churches.
That is why we are here today, together with our brothers and sisters from KwaZulu-Natal and other places, to say that our rights cannot simply be taken away.
We also want to say clearly that there is no person who has authority over spiritual matters, and no person who can control the work of the Holy Spirit. Churches have always regulated themselves, and they will continue to regulate themselves.
We will not allow our rights — the freedom of religion, the freedom of worship, the freedom of association, and the freedom of expression — to be taken away from us.
That is why we are gathered here at King Dinuzulu Park. We are saying to the government: keep your hands off the church. We do not want a government that interferes with the church. We do not want a system like that of communist governments where people are told what they can preach.
We want to preach freely what we find in the Scriptures. The Bible says that if people sin, they must repent, because the wages of sin is death. We must be free to preach that message.
We do not want a situation like in China where pastors are told what they may or may not preach. We have heard of pastors being told that they must preach certain things that the government approves.
We do not want that in South Africa.
When God speaks, God must be obeyed. That is why we are here to say: CRL, you cannot regulate the church.
We even heard the chairman of the CRL saying that Christianity must be regulated. But Christianity is not a “thing” that can be controlled or regulated.
Christianity is faith. It is the worship of God.
Therefore we stand here today saying that our freedom of religion must remain protected. We will continue to preach the Gospel and to practice our faith without interference.
Notes about the transcript
Some phrases in the Descript text were garbled or mixed with other African languages, especially:
- Swahili-sounding fragments like “njia nyingelela”
- Misheard Zulu words
- A protest chant near the end
But the overall message is very clear:
This is a church leader speaking at a protest or gathering opposing CRL regulation of churches in South Africa.
