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- A former KwaSizabantu member told the CRL Commission that he witnessed beatings at his rehabilitation center.
- This is the place where drug addicts would come to rehab.
- He also spoke of sexual assaults on young girls that led to some drug addicts being fired as civil servants.
Simphiwe Mhlebela, a former member of the KwaSizabantu Mission, testified before the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) who witnessed how some people seeking help for drug addiction in the mission rehabilitation center were “beaten until they wet their pants.”
Mhlebela spoke at the CRL Commission on Wednesday as part of its investigation into allegations of abuse at the KwaSizabantu Mission.
In 2017, Mhlebela had just been released from prison when she decided to head to the mission, which had given her hope during her time behind bars after her arrest during a strike, which she led, which turned violent.
He was excited to be free once again and headed to KwaSizabantu.
‘The fear of being a prisoner doubled ‘
But, upon arriving at the mission, Mhlebela said that he was sent to the rehabilitation center even though he had never taken drugs.
“[T]the feeling of being imprisoned was doubled, ”he said.
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He explained that on two occasions he was introduced to schools that the mission had visited as a “drug addict”, which had “humiliated” him.
“He didn’t know what to say about the drugs because he had never touched them, he was very embarrassed,” Mhlebela said.
He said the mission did not allow him to have a cell phone, talk to women or even dance, which was considered a sin.
There were a lot of those rules “that weren’t written down,” added Mhlebela.
‘Beaten until they wet their pants’
Mhlebela explained that he had seen “many times” the members of the mission severely beat others.
He explained that there were “tough guys” on the mission who had a room called “room number three.”
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“Late [at night], they brought in these drug addicts and beat them until they peed their pants.
“I saw him many times because he used to patrol at night,” Mhlebela said.
“I reported it several times to officials until they asked me, ‘Why does this bother you?’ I realized they approved this, what is going on? “
Mhlebela said a young man was also beaten and tied to the main gate of the mission. “I was the one who unleashed that boy.”
Sexual assault
Mhlebela told the commission that “serious sexual harassment” had occurred at the mission during his famous youth conferences.
He stated that after many youth conferences, officials fired drug addicts who allegedly had raped girls as young as 10 years old.
“I went to the address [and asked]Why don’t we break this conference apart and then maybe in June we’ll have a girls-only youth conference and in December we’ll have a boys-only one?
“It looked like he was putting a bomb on them,” Mhlebela said.
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Last year, he decided to leave the mission, firmly believing that it was a cult.
Entry denied in KSB
Before appearing before the CRL Commission, Mhlebela traveled from Durban to Johannesburg to share his story, after he was made to sleep off the mission last week.
Mhlebela explained that, before deciding to share her story with the commission, she would ask KwaSizabantu to account for the accusations against her.
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The day before a government monitoring visit to the mission last week, Mhlebela was determined to take the opportunity to speak with the mission leaders in person.
But according to Mhlebela, he was denied entry and spent the night away from the mission, waiting for answers.
The next day, government officials were welcomed.
Mhlebela decided to take a taxi and head to Johannesburg, determined to tell his story to the CRL Rights Commission, unaware that his investigation into the allegations of abuse at the mission would continue.
Now sitting in the commission’s offices in Johannesburg a week later, Mhlebela waited patiently in the lobby, his notes in one hand and a laptop in the other.
He told the commission that he wanted the KwaSizabantu to be held accountable, adding that he believed they were a cult.
“I decided to go to the mission, actually last week, to ask them … to tell the truth [and] I accepted the punishment, because I believed that only the truth could free them, ”explained Mhlebela.
“My problem is that I love that place so much, so on Wednesday after having sleepless nights for this matter, I went and arrived at the mission gates at 2:00 p.m. -19 “.
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Mhlebela added that he called his counselor inside to help him talk to the leaders, his counselor replied that they were busy, but she would try to help him.
“I waited outside until it was too late and ended up sleeping outside the door. But on Thursday, when government officials arrived, they opened them up and pretended that everyone is welcome on the mission.”
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“When they left, they closed the doors again. That is how I decided to get to the commission,” he said.
KwaSizabantu withdrew from the commission hearings last week, saying they wanted the president to recuse himself.
The mission has previously said that many of the allegations concern specific individuals, and not the mission as a whole.
They are due to appear before the commission next week.
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