By Celani Sikhakhane
- Followers of a KwaMaphumulo church group have stopped taking their chronic medication and children are no longer attending any formal schools.
- Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Mngadi said it is a crime to tell people to stop taking their medical treatment for HIV.
The KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Mngadi has called for the arrest of leaders of a church group in KwaMaphumulo.
This comes after followers of the group stopped taking their ARVs and left their jobs and homes. More than 50 people have moved to the property of Ekhaya LabaFundi bakaJehova to follow what they call the spirit of God.
Members of the group live on the property full-time. They do not leave to see friends or use public services like clinics and hospitals. They say using these services goes against their beliefs.
Children in the group do not go to school but are taught basic skills by the community. Adults have also stopped having sex and abandoned their businesses.
Simelane-Mngadi spoke about the issue during a sermon in uMzinyathi. She said putting the lives of people in danger by telling them to quit their treatment is against the law.
“We need to make sure that no one has a holiday from taking ARV,” she said. She called on the police to take a stand and arrest those in charge.
The head of the CRL Rights Commission, Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva, also said the leader should be arrested.
She said the group is violating rights to healthcare and education. The leader of the group, Vusumuzi Sibiya, calls himself a messenger of God. He said the people have come out of the system of the world to follow Jesus Christ.
Sibiya said the group stays on the land and survives by farming crops and animals.
Pictured above: KZN Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Mngadi wants church leaders arrested for telling people to stop taking their medication.
Image source: Supplied
