‘Don’t paint all foreign nationals who perform religious work as criminals’

While the charges brought against self-styled “Prophet” Shepherd Bushiri and pastor Tim Omotoso are grave, these examples should not be used to paint all foreign nationals who perform religious work as criminals, Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA) said.

The organisation has expressed concerns about remarks by Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi before Parliament on Tuesday.

“The department has announced that it will be clamping down on foreign nationals who are looking to perform religious work in South Africa. Minister Motsoaledi said that such religious workers would no longer be eligible for work permits or permanent residency, in South Africa.” FOR SA said.

The organisation said in their view the State was allowed to decide whom it allows into the country and for what purpose.

“This applies to a tourist on a tourist visa who is not allowed to work, as well as to someone who is granted, say, a special skills work visa. Equally, once a person is permitted to enter South Africa, they need to abide by the conditions of their visa or face deportation and/or other lawful sanctions.

“However, the State cannot unfairly discriminate against foreign nationals who want to come in to work as religious workers in comparison to foreign nationals who want to come into work in other sectors. Fair criteria and assessment should be used in each work visa category to ensure that legitimate applicants can obtain work visas. A blanket ban on foreign religious workers would arguably, therefore, be unconstitutional,” FOR SA said.

While the charges brought against Bushiri and Omotoso were indeed grave, these examples should not be used to paint all foreign nationals who perform religious work as criminals, said FOR SA’s Executive Director, Michael Swain.

“This is a false and rather xenophobic picture. A crime is a crime, irrespective of who commits it,” Swain said.

FOR SA notes that the religious freedom right guaranteed by section 15 of the South African constitution applies equally to all people who live in South Africa.

Cape Times