[ad_1]
Bishop Zondo. (Photo by Gallo Images / Sowetan / Thulani Mbele)
- The CRL commission is investigating allegations of sexual abuse, among others, against Pastor Bishop Bafana Zondo.
- Zondo’s request to intercept the commission’s public hearings was dismissed at cost.
- Zondo’s legal team will request permission to appeal the decision Monday morning.
The Johannesburg High Court dismissed a request by controversial Pastor Bishop Bafana Zondo and his Rivers of Living Waters Ministry church to prevent the CRL commission from holding public hearings on allegations of sexual assault in the church.
The urgent request was heard, virtually, by Judge Leonie Windell on Friday. It was launched by Zondo, the church and Lydia Malete, a senior pastor of the church who has been summoned to appear before the commission on Monday.
On behalf of Zondo, attorney Ishmael Semenya argued that the commission failed to act within its rights when it held public broadcast hearings last month on the allegations against him and the church, and that the allegations that emerged put Zondo’s life in danger. .
READ | ‘I have already been tried,’ Bishop Zondo says as the CRL commission concludes investigations
“This request does not want to stop the investigation of the commission. What we do not know is that Monday is only one of the days in which the first plaintiff is called to testify. They do not tell us that this is the end of In these hearings, It may very well be that on Tuesday and Wednesday they have summoned other parties that are not before the court.
So we [are] saying that the commission is empowered by law to carry out its investigations, but do they have the right to do so through public transmission in matters in which these harmful complaints continue to be repeated in public spaces? That is the nature of the application, we will not stop them at all, ”said Semenya.
CRL within your rights
The representatives of the commission argued that it was within their right to hold public hearings and that the accusations were already in the public domain. They said that the plaintiffs had the option to testify behind closed doors and that if the commission did not grant them that option, only then should they go to court.
“… the commission may decide to keep the testimony behind closed doors so that all the damage that my wise friend has brought to court today can be avoided by asking the commission to make a decision,” argued attorney Duncan Stubbs on behalf of the CRL.
“If my learned friend is not satisfied with the decision, that is the time when the applicant would come to court and say that we will not preside over the open hearings that we have given the commission, a constitutional entity, the opportunity to consider this. issue, they have considered it wrong and we ask the court to please help us. It is at that time that this should not happen at this time, “he added.
At his trial, Windell noted that the commission had very broad powers as defined in the CRL Act.
“The petitioners contend that the commission’s decision to hold public hearings is illegal and contrary to the law, but they do not refer to any provision prohibiting the holding of public hearings and do not resonate with the act’s clear language regarding the process of the commission that gives the commission broad discretion, “he said.
“Furthermore, I am satisfied that the applicants, in any event, have not established a clear right. The applicants based their clear right on the constitutional right to dignity, privacy, thought, belief and opinion: the rights in those that are based are rights that are shared by everyone in the Republic. It is not enough for applicants merely to affirm that they have these rights, “he added.
Windell also agreed with the commission that the allegations were already in the public domain, as the matter was in the public interest, and that Zondo and the church had an opportunity to refute the allegations by appearing before the commission.
“The fact that has led to the alleged violation of the dignity of the plaintiff is the November hearings. The plaintiffs now have the opportunity to present their own versions and refute the accusations if they can,” he said.
Before the commission begins Monday afternoon, Semenya will ask for permission to appeal the decision.
Did you know that you can comment on this article? Subscribe to News24 and add your voice to the conversation.
