CRL Rights Commission — Media Statement, 24 February 2026

Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities · official letterhead document · welcoming the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report of 23 February 2026

Transcript

Transcribed from the letterhead document above.

EDITORS/REPORTERS — 24 FEBRUARY 2026

MEDIA STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE CRL RIGHTS COMMISSION WELCOMING THE REPORT OF THE SPECIAL INVESTIGATING UNIT (SIU)

The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities welcomes the report of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) released on 23 February 2026.

The CRL Rights Commission reiterates that the SIU report reinforces its call for accountability in the religious sector. The Commission has maintained that these problems could have been avoided through a self-regulation mechanism that involves the registration of pastors, vetting as required by the Children's Act 38 of 2005, and adherence to a code of conduct.

The Commission maintains that, as with professions such as doctors (HPCSA), lawyers (LPC), nurses (SANC), social workers (SACSSP), and traditional healers (THPCSA), etc., which are overseen by regulatory councils, the religious sector also requires a self-regulatory council to ensure accountability and ethical conduct.

In that regard, if a Christian council was in place, the Department of Home Affairs would have had a body from which to source guidance and advice. Consequently, it would not have been approving illegal foreign nationals who falsely claimed to be bringing scarce skills into the country.

For any further enquiries, contact Mpiyakhe Mkholo — 082 527 3859 or Mpiyakhem@crlcommission.org.za;

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Why this matters

This is the CRL Rights Commission's own dated, on-letterhead reaffirmation — four months after the October 2025 launch of its Section 22 Committee — that it intends the religious sector to be brought under a statutory regulatory council, with registration of pastors and vetting, on the model of the bodies that license doctors and lawyers. It is direct primary evidence of the registration-and-control trajectory, in the Commission's own words.