Probe into George building collapse complete, findings to be shared with victims' families
After studying a report on the collapse of a five-storey residential property development in George, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson will share the findings with the families of the victims.
The report, compiled by the Council for the Built Environment, comes more than a year after the collapse of the residential property development in George caused the deaths of 34 people and injured 28.
'As the department, we will now carefully study the report to develop a pathway forward to ensure that a tragedy such as the George building collapse never happens again,' said Macpherson in a statement.
'As I have previously committed, after studying the report, I will personally return to George to present the findings of this report to the families affected by this tragedy. They deserve to hear directly from us, not through the media, about what went wrong and how we intend to rectify it.'
Macpherson's spokesperson, James de Villiers, said a final date had not yet been set by the minister to visit the families.
It is also unclear whether the findings of the report will be made public.
'This will be decided after having spoken to the families,' said De Villiers.
The collapse of the five-storey development, known as 75 Victoria, in May 2024, was followed by a recovery effort that lasted for several days. Twenty-eight survivors were eventually recovered from the rubble.
The contractor for the development was Liatel Developments, under director Theuns Kruger, Daily Maverick reported.
Macpherson said the completion of the report 'marks a critical step in the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure's commitment to uncover the truth behind this preventable disaster and to ensure that those responsible are held accountable'.
He said the collapse of the building was 'the result of systemic failures across regulatory bodies and a lack of cooperation among key stakeholders'. He added that the department would continue to work with the South African Police Service, the National Prosecuting Authority and other regulatory bodies to 'ensure accountability'.
'As I have said before, the collapse of the George building was entirely preventable, and we will therefore work towards accountability and address any errors which may have been identified. By working together, we are ensuring a safe and secure construction sector for all stakeholders,' said Macpherson.
The report is one of several commissioned by various stakeholders into the collapse.
In April, the National Home Builders Registration Council's (NHBRC's) investigation into the collapse of the building revealed that there were several breaches in occupational health and safety standards at the construction site, Daily Maverick's Tamsin Metelerkamp reported.
The NHBRC is a regulatory body of the home building industry, with a mandate to protect the interests of housing consumers and to ensure that builders comply with the prescribed building standards.
Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane said the violations identified in the NHBRC's report included a failure to address safety concerns at the site, as well as the resignation of a safety consultant during the building process. DM
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Daily Maverick
25-06-2025
- Daily Maverick
Tensions rise at Hillbrow Clinic as Operation Dudula attempts to deny migrants healthcare access
On Wednesday, 25 June 2025, Operation Dudula once again disrupted access to Johannesburg's Hillbrow Clinic, targeting foreign nationals and denying them healthcare in defiance of South Africa's Constitution. Despite police intervention and ongoing legal action by rights groups, the anti-migrant group continues to intimidate and unlawfully demand documentation from patients. 'Since 5am, I have been here. I came to remove my teeth. When I arrived here, I was number four in the line. Look, I am still standing here, and it is 10am. I just want to go inside because my teeth are so painful.' This is what Jennifer, a woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), told Daily Maverick as Operation Dudula once again blocked the entrance to the Hillbrow Clinic in the heart of Johannesburg on Wednesday morning, 25 June 2025. The group's attempt to prevent foreign nationals from accessing healthcare at the clinic began on Monday when security guards were forced to close the clinic's gates as tensions escalated. Despite being removed by the police earlier this week, Operation Dudula returned to the healthcare centre and continued to ask the clinic's patients for identification, in contravention of South Africa's Constitution and the Immigration Act. Section 27 of the Constitution explicitly states that everyone living in South Africa has the right to access basic healthcare services, and no one may be denied emergency medical treatment even if they are undocumented. Additionally, the Immigration Act stipulates that only immigration officers and members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) have the authority to ask citizens and foreign nationals to produce valid documentation. Despite the unlawfulness of Operation Dudula's attempt to stop people they suspect of being in the country illegally, the anti-migrant group insists that they are within their rights to deny migrants access to healthcare. 'Law enforcers are failing to implement the Immigration Act, so we will do what we have to as concerned citizens to make sure the rule of law is respected. The Criminal Procedures Act of 1977 allows us to perform a citizen's arrest on anyone we suspect to be a criminal. What we are doing here is stopping criminals from accessing free healthcare and burdening our systems,' Operation Dudula member Shimphiwe Shabangu told Daily Maverick. Shabangu insisted that they were not preventing people with valid documentation or who needed urgent medical care from accessing the clinic. But Daily Maverick witnessed the organisation's members doing exactly that. The publication saw Operation Dudula members, clad in military-style regalia, stop a woman whose face was caked in dry blood from a wound on her forehead from entering the clinic. The woman, an asylum seeker from the DRC, showed the members her asylum permit but was still denied entry. Speaking to Daily Maverick on the sidelines, the woman said: 'They say I cannot go in here, only South Africans can. I have been here for 23 years, and I have my asylum papers, but they still are not allowing me in. You can see I am bleeding, but I cannot get help. This is not how you treat people, even if you don't like them.' The police arrived at the clinic just after 10am, and after a tense exchange with Shabangu the officers successfully stopped Operation Dudula from preventing access to the clinic. However, the group refused to leave the premises, vowing to mobilise forces to continue the unlawful action. Right groups bid to stop Operation Dudula Earlier this month, Daily Maverick reported on several rights groups' legal bid to stop Operation Dudula from assaulting or harassing foreign nationals and to stop it from impeding access to healthcare services and schools for the children of international migrants. The groups accused Operation Dudula of illegally demanding that private individuals produce identity documents to prove their right to be in South Africa, and obstructing access to healthcare facilities and schools by threatening and removing migrants, among other things. The case has been reserved for judgment, but if the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg finds in favour of the civil society organisations, it would bar Operation Dudula from impeding access to healthcare, as it did on Wednesday. Shabangu insisted that the civil society organisations' case was weak, and was confident that the judge would dismiss the interdict. DM
Daily Maverick
24-06-2025
- Daily Maverick
‘Respiratory failure' and illness in India — how wanted Gupta brothers have skirted SA enforcement
South Africa has confirmed it is still trying to extradite Gupta brothers Rajesh and Atul and that it is not finished with the UAE in this regard. Daily Maverick, meanwhile, has established they've been in India and issues, including illness, indicate they have wanted to stay put. Wanted Gupta brothers Rajesh and Atul have probably been in India for at least six months, while South Africa has been devising plans to try to get them back into this country for State Capture crimes. Daily Maverick has established their recent – possibly current – location through piecing together court documents lodged over several months last year in India, where the brothers are originally from. The documents show that members of the Gupta family have apparently experienced ill health; this includes Atul, who had swine flu and respiratory issues. These health matters contributed to the brothers wanting to remain in India following a visit to their ageing mother last year. 'Embezzlement and money laundering' Aside from their whereabouts, the documents also refer to concerns about a potentially 'fabricated' letter that a captain in the South African Police Service (SAPS) signed and that says Rajesh and Atul do not have criminal records. It was not clear what exactly the nature of this potential fabrication was – the entire document, the full contents or an aspect of it. The Gupta brothers have disputed the fabrication issue. This week, the national office of the SAPS was unable to respond ahead of publication to Daily Maverick questions about this, sent on Monday, 23 June 2025. We will update this story, should they comment. An Indian court finding from late last year said that based on South Africa's stance, Rajesh and Atul were 'fugitives wanted for prosecution in a case arising in Pretoria, South Africa, relating to certain allegations of embezzlement and money laundering'. Rajesh and Atul have previously, via court documents submitted in India, countered that they were innocent, and that South Africa was unfairly targeting them – effectively because of a change in government. Despite their prominence and the accusations that the brothers face – of corrupting South Africa's Zuma-led government – it is unclear if authorities here have officially located them. If authorities have, they are simply not saying so publicly. 'Busy with extradition processes' In Parliament last week, Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) head Andrea Johnson referred to previous attempts to get the UAE, where the Guptas brothers were once based, to extradite them, or explain why it chose not to do so. 'Twelve note[s] verbales later, we still do not have any response from the UAE about why the extradition failed. Safe to say that they have asked us to resubmit… 'We have now, however, taken a decision to submit new applications with additional matters,' Johnson had said. This week, Daily Maverick asked Idac spokesperson Henry Mamothame if the Gupta brothers' location was known and what it meant if they were not in the UAE, but their extraditions were again requested from there. He replied: 'The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption… is busy with the extradition process but cannot comment on the questions raised.' Daily Maverick sent questions about whether the brothers were still in India and if they intended returning to South Africa, to an advocate, Vivek Sood, listed as representing Rajesh and Atul in India. On Tuesday, 24 June 2025, he said: 'I will not be able to respond… due to client-attorney privileged communication and confidentiality. 'Moreover, I only appeared as a Senior Counsel for a few hearings and am not aware of subsequent events post my appearances in the Delhi High Court.' Questions via WhatsApp and email to another lawyer also listed as representing the Gupta brothers in India were not responded to. SA, US, Dubai, Vanuatu The Guptas have a history with South Africa dating back decades. They arrived in the country in the 1990s and set up shop here. South Africa's political arena shifted over the following years, and in 2016, when Jacob Zuma was president, it was reported that Gupta family members left South Africa. This coincided with the year former public protector Thuli Madonsela released a report titled State of Capture. The report implicated Zuma and the Guptas. A section says: 'This… relates to an investigation into complaints of alleged improper and unethical conduct by the president and other state functionaries relating to alleged improper relationships and involvement of the Gupta family'. In 2019, the saga took on another international angle when the US sanctioned individuals, including Rajesh and Atul. 'Due in large part to their generous donations to a political party and their reportedly close relationship with former South African President Jacob Zuma, their business interests expanded,' a US Treasury statement said at the time. 'The family has been implicated in several corrupt schemes in South Africa, allegedly stealing hundreds of millions of dollars through illegal deals with the South African government, obfuscated by a shadowy network of shell companies and associates linked to the family.' Rajesh and Atul Gupta were arrested in Dubai in the UAE in 2022. The following year, they managed to avoid being extradited from there to South Africa. (This is what South Africa is still trying to iron out with the UAE.) And around that time, it emerged that they had Vanuatu citizenship. Daily Maverick subsequently established that the Gupta brothers wanted to be in India – they turned to the Delhi High Court, which permitted them a two-month stay from around the end of May 2024. Illness in India It had been put to the court that their 77-year-old mother 'is a resident of Saharanpur, Uttarakhand, [and] is suffering from various health problems due to old age'. The brothers had wanted the court 'to suspend the operation' of a Look Out Circular (LOC), which is effectively an alert that India uses to monitor travellers wanted by police. It was argued on their behalf that the LOC could be 'quashed on grounds of applicants being innocent, [and] witch-hunting by the law enforcement agencies in Pretoria, South Africa, against the applicant and his family members due to change in regime in the said country'. They were granted the two-month stay in India. Daily Maverick can now reveal that this was probably extended. Papers filed at the Delhi High Court dated July 2024 show that Atul wanted to stay in India for another two months. And a court order from two months later, September 2024, on which both Atul and Rajesh are listed as petitioners, shows that they wanted the LOC suspended for 'a further' four months, which would have been until around January this year. Lung infection and 'respiratory failure' It said the grounds on which this was sought was that Rajesh's wife was 'diagnosed with Lumbar Disc Disease, Carpel (sic) Tunnel Syndrome and post viral Myalgia'. She was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Gurugram. As for Atul, it said he was 'suffering from severe lung infection and is diagnosed with Viral Fever (H1N1 Positive) with Type 1 Respiratory Failure, Chronic Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis and Type II Diabetes Mellitus'. Their request to remain in India was granted until October 2024, when another court hearing was set. During those proceedings in the Delhi High Court, it was found they could remain in India and that if they wanted to leave, they would have to provide at least one week's notice to authorities there. 'Since the medical documents of the concerned persons have been verified, [Rajesh and Atul Gupta] can continue to stay in India, however, if any investigation request is received along with any provisional arrest request, the same shall be given effect to in accordance with law by the concerned agencies,' the October 2024 finding said. 'If any request for extradition is made, the same shall also proceed in accordance with law.' 'Fabricated document' concern That court finding also touched on the issue of the potentially dodgy document. 'There is also an allegation on behalf of the concerned investigating agency that … a letter issued by the South African Police Service … stating that the Petitioners do not have a criminal record, is a fabricated document,' it said. 'This position is disputed by the Petitioners… 'The Court is of the view that it cannot deal with the said allegation in the present proceedings, since it relates to a certificate issued by the South African Authority, the forgery and fabrication, if any, may be looked into by the appropriate countries' agencies.' This is what the SAPS was unable to respond to Daily Maverick about before publication. Meanwhile, other members of the Gupta family have also found themselves at the centre of legal proceedings in India. Builder's suicide Last year Ajay Gupta – the brother of Rajesh and Atul – and his brother-in-law Anil Gupta were arrested in a case involving a builder who died by suicide. The builder was Satinder Singh Sawhney (also spelled Sahni). Daily Maverick previously reported that court papers in that matter explained the prosecution's case was that Sawhney felt so distressed because of the Guptas that he took his own life. '[Ajay and Anil Gupta] had made the life of the deceased miserable; they had pressured the deceased so that (he) was left with no other option but to end his life,' the papers said. The court papers had also referred to Sawhney's suicide note. A part of that note said: 'In a few days Ajay Gupta created too much pressure on me and my partner… 'Because of his background and his angry behaviour of threatening, we were not able to say anything in front of him as he had a very dangerous past, as he himself told us to check on Google what he has done in South Africa. 'He is a very big fraud. Sir we are too much afraid of both Anil Gupta and Ajay Gupta in this project. Public money is involved. We cannot work with him. I have to prove my innocence, I have not done anything wrong.' It was not immediately clear what had since happened. DM
Daily Maverick
22-06-2025
- Daily Maverick
SAPS and FBI investigate child sexual abuse by secretive Two by Twos Christian cult
A secretive church known as the Two by Twos, also referred to as the 2x2s, has been rocked by widespread allegations of child sexual assault taking place globally over decades. A secretive fundamentalist Christian sect — widely known as the Two by Twos (2x2s), but also as the No-Name Church, The Truth, or The Way — has been rocked by an international child sexual abuse and rape scandal. A Daily Maverick investigation has found church members who reported cases of abuse in South Africa too. One of the alleged South African perpetrators in the abuse scandal, a 'worker' in the church, is still a free man — but the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and South African Police Service (SAPS) are closing in. SAPS spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amanda van Wyk confirmed this week that a historic sexual abuse case was being investigated by the police's Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal. According to Van Wyk, it is alleged that 'the victim, now 51 years old, was sexually abused in 1983 around the age of nine by an alleged 'pastor' from the 2x2s church'. The victim told Daily Maverick that they were interviewed by the FBI, which is conducting a global investigation into abuses by the 2x2s church. The alleged perpetrator's identity is known to 'overseers' — a term used for the sect's leadership. The identity of the alleged perpetrator, Worker A, is also known to Daily Maverick. Men in the church are referred to as 'workers' or 'brothers', and there are also 'friends' of the fellowship. Because of the secretive nature of the sect, as well as its lack of infrastructure and leadership hierarchy, membership figures of the Two by Twos are difficult to come by. However, according to the BBC, which investigated sexual abuse into the church, the membership is estimated t0 be 100,000, mostly in North America, Australia and New Zealand. Numbers in South Africa are also difficult to confirm, but Leon Van Niekerk, a church member, estimated local membership to be between 20,000 and 50,000. The SA fallout and what preceded it The wide-ranging international investigation reached South African shores in 2023 when Van Niekerk, a member of the sect, reported the alleged child rape by the leading 'worker' in South Africa that had taken place at a church convention held in 1983. Forty years later, the survivor contacted Van Niekerk, who was offering support to other current and former members. With the consent of the survivor, Van Niekerk reported the matter to the SAPS. The statute of limitations on sexual offences in South Africa had been lifted by the Constitutional Court in 2017, and so Van Niekerk went to the Linden Police Station in Johannesburg and received a reference number for the case. It was later transferred to Pinetown and the FCS unit. The incident that prompted Van Niekerk to lodge the charge against Worker A, who has also done 'missionary' outreach work in other countries, was the Dean Bruer scandal in the US. Bruer, a veteran Two by Twos overseer and 'worker' who had served in several US states and other countries since 1976, was found dead in his Best Western Mt Hood Inn hotel room in Government Camp, Oregon, in June 2022. Detroit Legal reported that nine months after Bruer died, Doyle Smith, the overseer for Idaho and Oregon, wrote a letter to members stating that evidence left on Bruer's phone and laptop showed he had raped and abused multiple underage victims. 'That was a huge prick in the balloon. That brought down the curtain,' Van Niekerk told Daily Maverick. In his letter to the church community that was subsequently posted online, Doyle Smith, reportedly a US-based 'overseer', wrote that 'we have come to the tragic conclusion that Dean Bruer had another side to his life that none of us, except the victims, ever witnessed or suspected'. Bruer, he acknowledged, 'was a sexual predator'. 'There is a very united consensus among us that the only thing to do is to be transparent with all of you for obvious reasons, though this is very difficult. We are very sorry for the hurt this will bring to the hearts of many. Thankfully, he is no longer in a position to hurt anyone,' Smith added. More than 700 names were given by abuse survivors to a hotline set up by a group called Advocates for The Truth after the Bruer bombshell. The group was formed by Cynthia Liles, a former church member and now private investigator who is assisting with the probe alongside former members Lauren Robs and Sheri Autrey. Liles is collaborating with the FBI in its investigation. She told Daily Maverick that the abuse exposed globally and in South Africa was 'just the tip of the iceberg'. The Telling The Truth website is a portal into the history of the church, while Expressions by Ex 2x2s offers a community and network for survivors. A hotline for former members in Australia and New Zealand received allegations involving about 130 separate people. In March 2024, Vancouver Island resident Lyndell Montgomery, now 49, spoke out after a minister, Lee-Ann McChesney, had abused her when she was 14. Montgomery was a member of the Two by Twos at the time. McChesney was arrested in January and charged with one count of sexual abuse and one count of sexual exploitation. McChesney has pleaded not guilty and the trial is ongoing. In November 2024, Raymond Zwiefelhofer, 61, was convicted in the US on 10 counts of possessing child sexual abuse material and was sentenced to 120 years in prison. According to Maricopa Deputy County Attorney Catherine Fu, a total of 87 files contained child abuse material known as 'child pornography'. These were a combination of photographs and videos, and all depicted children under the age of 15. Zwiefelhofer maintained his innocence. The tech CEO had been a member of the 2x2s on and off for decades. A BBC investigation in February 2024 outed an ex-minister, Robert Corfield, who admitted when confronted that he had sexually abused a young boy while he lived in Canada in 1980. In August in New Zealand, a Northland man and member of the church was arrested as part of the global investigation. The man, whose identity was not disclosed, faces 17 charges of assault lodged by four victims who had been preyed on by the man between 1960 and 1980. In February this year, the FBI enlisted the New Zealand police to assist with the investigation in that country. This data have been collated by organisations such as Wings for Truth, which focuses on protecting children from Child Sexual Abuse (CSA), and Bridges & Balm, which supports survivors in the 'church'. A total of 107 people have been directly affected by the alleged abuse in the Two by Twos and are associated with 43 alleged perpetrators. A total of 94 victims are reported to be alive. Six have died since they suffered alleged abuse. Five of the victims were identified as having 'worker' status, while 102 had 'friend' or ordinary member status. Inside homes What has facilitated what appears to be widespread and continuing abuse is the church's insistence that members host 'missionaries' in their private homes. These 'workers' must be of the same sex, unmarried and sworn to an oath of celibacy. Jesus' prescription in the Bible that disciples go out 'two by two' to spread 'the truth' is the inspiration for this configuration. Evidence has emerged of the grooming methods perpetrators had deployed in the homes they were living in. Van Niekerk, who was raised in the sect, said that at least 10 other alleged survivors, men and women, had come forward in South Africa since the Bruer scandal broke. He said the evidence of abuse had troubled him deeply. 'My great-grandparents were the first in our families to join this fellowship. This fellowship is mostly scripture-based and that is why it appealed to so many people, because it is based on scripture, not on the dogma of man.' After spending 22 years in the Two by Twos, he could not remain silent about 'this scourge of child sexual abuse and also of adults, and the long-term suffering that these people have to endure'. Liles told Daily Maverick that she had connected with a lawyer who had been working with two survivors in 2022, after Bruer's death. Smith's letter to sect members, in which he acknowledged Bruer as a 'rapist and child abuser', led to a hotline being set up for survivors to come forward, she said. Now, as a private investigator, Liles feeds new information from across the globe to the FBI. She said the worldwide impact 'appeared to be the same all over where the church is'. 'There's just been a ton of abuse by the ministry,' she told Daily Maverick. That these sexual predators lived in people's homes, she added, placed potential young victims in their direct and intimate proximity. Children speaking out risked the wrath of family and church elders. Liles said because the abuse had occurred over such a long period, survivors in some countries had no recourse to the law, 'which makes it difficult in some parts of the world'. Some of the perpetrators identified had already died, as had some of their victims. South Africa, which has 'favourable statutes of limitations', could see the same kind of sensational arrests that had occurred in New Zealand and Canada, said Liles. South African survivor speaks out 'For me, it is about the accountability, which remains with the church. How these people [the perpetrators] are handled helps those of us who have survived to heal,' the abuse survivor in South Africa, whose case was reported to the SAPS, told Daily Maverick. 'Living with the shame and the double shame of the church, and it all being hidden is life-shattering. There have been so many victims and I feel their pain.' The survivor was sexually abused at the age of nine when Worker A was in his mid-twenties and a brother in the sect. The man had 'groomed me over time, calling me his little lamb, his helper, and twirling my hair'. At a church convention in Durban in 1983, Worker A lured the child to the edge of the grounds near a stream, where the alleged sexual assault took place. Afterwards, Worker A had threatened that 'God would punish me if I told anyone'. A day later, he offered the child 'pink musk sweets', which he described as their 'quiet sweets'. When the survivor was 16, they confided in a trusted fellow member of the Two by Twos. 'I fell gravely ill a few months later. To this day I live with multiple autoimmune diseases, which my specialists believe were triggered as the result of immense emotional trauma of the assault. 'On 20 September 2010, I found the courage to confront Worker A via an email,' the survivor said. In response, the survivor alleged Worker A admitted that he had sexually assaulted them as a child. A follow-up telephone conversation after the email prompted a similar admission. The survivor said that when they asked the man how many other children he had molested during his time in the fellowship, his chilling response was: 'What do you consider a child, as they differ so much in maturity?' The assault by Worker A had been reported to other members of the community, including overseers, said the survivor, and it had initially been agreed that he should be removed from 'the work'. 'At the time, I had trusted the workers to deal with this appropriately. However, I endured tremendous pressure from overseers in South America to allow Worker A to continue to work there and blaming me for any 'souls' that would not be saved should he not be allowed back.' The survivor had initially 'stood down' from laying criminal charges against Worker A and also agreed not to pursue any civil action against those overseers who had been tasked with leading the collective. 'I simply did not have the physical and emotional strength to go ahead with it, but it has since come to my attention that the perpetrator has been having meetings in his home. 'A self-acknowledged child predator is allowed to do this,' they explained. The concern is that more children are being placed at risk as long as Worker A continues to act with seeming impunity. 'This is so deep and wide, and there are so many children at risk that the church must take responsibility,' the survivor said. DM Who are the Two by Twos? The Two by Twos is a religious group originating in late 19th-century Ireland, known for its unique evangelistic approach where members, called workers, travel in pairs. The group rejects traditional church structures, the doctrine of the Trinity, and the ordination of ministers, believing themselves to be the sole true church. The sect has a specific structure and hierarchy, although the group itself denies having a central leadership or hierarchy. There are assigned head workers, or overseers, who are responsible for members and regular workers within a region. Breakdown of the structure and hierarchy The Friends: This term refers to all members of the group. It is used to identify fellow members and as a general way of referring to the group. Within the members, there are different levels of commitment marked by practices such as 'Professing' and 'Baptism'.'Professing' involves publicly declaring one's faith and commitment to the group, typically done when a meeting is 'tested'. Members usually 'profess' between the ages of 10 and 12, and must 'profess' to speak and pray during a meeting. 'Professing' members cannot participate in communion until 'baptised'. 'Baptism' is a rite of passage signifying commitment, typically occurring during the teenage years. Baptism is done by full immersion, rejecting sprinkling and infant baptism. Baptised members are considered fully committed and eligible for communion. A term used for former active members is 'Lost-out'. The Elders: These are members responsible for leading a specific church or meeting, typically held in their home on Sundays. Elders uphold the structure of in-home meetings, are responsible for starting and ending the service, are the last to speak and pray, and lead communion. They are expected to be respected and followed. If a worker is present at an in-home meeting, they usually take on most of the elder's responsibilities The Workers: These are members given the responsibility of spreading the group's beliefs through evangelism, travelling from home to home. They are considered equivalent to ministers in other religions. Workers almost always travel in pairs of the same gender… This practice is a core belief, based on Luke 10:1, and is seen as providing support and accountability. Workers are expected to dedicate themselves fully to spreading the message. Workers must adhere to all the rules for regular members but to an even higher extent, dressing more modestly, and prioritising their relationship with God even more. They spend long periods reading the Bible and praying. Workers are expected to have limited possessions, relying on the generosity of others. They typically travel with just one suitcase, although possessions like smartphones, tablets and laptops are now common. They usually do not own vehicles, but are often provided one within a field. Workers rarely have a designated home and are expected to constantly move from home to home, usually staying only a few days in one place. They are rarely given time to see their families. Workers are expected to be celibate and are not allowed to be married, a mandate established by 'overseers'. There is a hierarchy within the group of workers, with brother workers generally considered to be of higher esteem than sister workers. The Overseers: This refers to a leader responsible for all workers and members within a given region, which can be a state or multiple states, or even an entire country in smaller areas. Overseers are always male members and are typically senior workers who have been in the ministry for many years. They oversee the work of others and provide guidance and direction. The Head Overseer: This is a leader responsible for all overseers within a specific area. The only known examples are in the US (eastern US) and potentially Australia. A head overseer is in charge of the overseers in their designated area and also has their own region of responsibility. Structural units for the work also include: Fields: These are subregions within an overseer's larger region. Each field typically has a minimum of 100 members and is generally made up of a city or multiple towns. Two workers are usually assigned to a field to spread the message, organise meetings, provide spiritual guidance and arrange gospel meetings. In the name of God Two things have become apparent while researching this depressing and sadly not-so-shocking Two by Twos church scandal. It is neither the scope or how long it has been allowed to continue and been covered up, nor the lifelong scars this has left on thousands upon thousands of victims and survivors. These are a special class of survivor — those of religious predation and abuse; individuals whose very spiritual core has been shattered and wounded by the entitlements of male church hierarchies claiming a perverse power and hold over the souls of those they 'save' in the name of God. The words we use The first is that the word 'pornography' does not describe the scourge of child torture, sexual assault and rape that takes place. Most often this is filmed and photographed, and distributed among networks. Pornography is for adult consumption. This is something much darker and depraved. We should insist on calling it what it is. Secondly, surely it is time for the recommendations of the 2017 Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights Commission report into the Commercialisation of Religion and Abuse of People's Belief Systems to be acted upon. The commission's recommendations to amend existing legislation to protect congregants and believers, and for religious organisations to register with the government, was resisted by the religious establishment. Eight years later in April this year, the commission announced that a Section 22 Committee led by Prof Musa Xulu will work towards the establishment of a peer review council to protect congregants from harm. There is enough evidence — and it mounts daily — that religion is being weaponised by self-appointed prophets and preachers in positions of 'leadership' to exploit 'followers'. This greed is performed for either financial gain, or political power or perverse sexual enjoyment. Sometimes it's all three. The Two by Twos pustule that burst globally in 2022 is just one scandal among many. From deviants in the Catholic and Anglican Churches, to the Pentecostal pastors who force congregations to eat grass or touch their genitals during a 'service', many have dark secrets to hide. The victims are, in every single instance, women and children, boys and girls, who are rendered powerless by religious dogma and scriptures set in stone. In the eyes of these 'holy men', those in the flock lower down in the hierarchy are biblically sanctioned possessions. Apart from registering as tax-free institutions, a matter of debate when it comes to mega-millions mega-churches selling tax-free holy water and underpants, what other controls exist? What prevents anyone from declaring they are their own Personal Jesus? As did the notorious South African paedophile Gert van Rooyen (alongside his partner Joey Haaroff), who is believed to have kidnapped and murdered six young girls in South Africa between 1988 and 1989, before shooting Joey and himself as the police closed in on him. Pieter van Zyl details in his book Gert and Joey, how Van Rooyen converted to Christianity while in jail for the rape of two 12-year-old girls and, upon his release, established a congregation that he led. Van Rooyen operated in the apartheid era, but people like him thrive under the cloak of religious protection today because we live in a secular society where freedom of religion is guaranteed and a constitutional right. Surely then the Constitution should protect citizens from horrific and criminal exploitation when it occurs in this realm? 'Established' religious institutions in South Africa are allowed a high degree of autonomy and are not subject to government control. That is democracy. As Public Benefit Organisations, there is no need for religious organisations to pay tax, and that is it. What then to do with the criminals who hide behind the Bible and religious garb? What checks and balances exist to stop such horrific accounts of abuse, over years and generations, leaving broken lives? Leon van Niekerk, the Two by Twos member who reported abuse to the South African Police Service, shows us how we can use the Constitution to put the fear of the law into abusers of all shapes and sizes.
