The South African
government has threatened a jail term for Chris Oyakhilome if his
church, Christ Embassy, fails to release its financial records, the
South African based News24 is reporting.
The Commission for
the Promotion and Protection of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic
Communities said several religious leaders in the country could be
jailed if they fail to comply with the demands of the commission.
The commission
said it was investigating the commercialization of religion and abuse of
people's beliefs and had summoned several churches to appear before it
with their ordination certificate, registration certificate, bank
statements, and annual financial statements from 2012.
Thoko
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said the commission had been forced to take a legal
route because some of the church leaders had failed to comply with their
directive.
"Some of these
religious leaders will face prison if they do not comply and we have
been clear about our course of action," Mkhwanazi-Xaluva told News24.
"Some religious leaders have also threatened the commission, which is leading us towards the legal route."
Mr. Oyakhilome, the
founder of Christ Embassy, had indicated he would take a legal action
to stop the commission from forcing it to open his books, according to
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva.
Christ Embassy had earlier sought for an extension of time to enable it review its financial records.
Ms.
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said they were also considering filing charges of
intimidation against religious leaders who had publicly threatened the
commission.
She wondered why some pastors would take money from their followers and, yet, refuse to provide their financial records.
"These people take money from people," she said.
"What are they doing with that money? We want to know. We will not back down.
"If he (Mr.
Oyakhilome) intends on that route, we are ready. He will have to face
the same fate as the others who refuse to hand over their financial
records."
While most of the
old traditional churches - including the Catholic church, the Methodist
church, the Presbyterian Church, and the Lutheran Church - had
requested for an extension of time; a lot of the new breed churches had
threatened court action.
Earlier this month,
a South African pastor, Paseka Motsoeneng, told the commission he
would rather go to jail than hand over his financial records.
Mr. Motsoeneng
(popularly known as Mboro), the head of Incredible Happenings church, is
known in the country for his healings and miracles.
"Now the headlines
will be saying Mboro has R10 million in his account... . I have
enemies. Now they will know my strength and weakness... I want to
protect myself, my church and my ministry so I have to look and consult
thoroughly with my lawyers," he said.
"For my belief, I will be glad to go to jail. Even now, I can be taken there."
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