In rural KwaZulu-Natal, a growing Christian movement is urging followers to abandon education, healthcare and careers in pursuit of complete spiritual separation from ‘worldly systems’.
- More than 48 members of a controversial religious group in KwaZulu-Natal are leaving rural KwaMaphumulo after traditional leaders ordered them to vacate the land with immediate effect.
- Members left jobs, schooling and, in some cases, medical treatment, to live communally in pursuit of what they described as total spiritual separation.
- Church leader Vusumuzi Sibiya says the movement will continue preaching despite the instruction to leave.
A controversial religious group, which has abandoned education, employment and healthcare, has been ordered to vacate the group’s communal base in KwaZulu-Natal with immediate effect.
During a meeting on Monday, traditional authorities in the KwaMaphumulo area, where the group is based, concluded that they must leave the land, and that no congregants should remain in the area from Wednesday.
KwaMaphumulo is largely rural, with the closest major town in KwaDukuza, about an hour north of Durban central.
This resolution was reached after church leader Vusumuzi Sibiya was called to appear before the tribal court in KwaMaphumulo on Monday.
Speaking to News24, Sibiya said that members were complying with the directive and had begun dispersing.
“We were told to leave, and they are leaving. We are not fighting anyone. We respect the traditional authority. Some left yesterday, some are leaving as we speak, but we want to respect the local traditional authority and make sure that members leave before the end of today,” he said.
READ | A kingdom apart: Inside KZN church’s radical separation from modern society
According to Sibiya, more than 48 members are affected by the decision.
Some will be travelling back to their provinces, including the North West and Eastern Cape, while others will relocate to Inanda, KwaMashu, Mariannhill, and other parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
“We knew at some point this would happen,” Sibiya said.
“We are not angry. God never said his way would be easy. But we will make sure that his teachings will not end, even if we are kilometres apart.”
The group recently came under public scrutiny after members revealed that they had given up tertiary studies, resigned from jobs and moved away from their families to live together in pursuit of what they describe as a “purer” form of Christianity.
Central to their belief system is the conviction that modern society, including education systems, healthcare institutions, formal employment structures and state systems, represents what they call “worldly systems” that are incompatible with true faith.
One 19-year-old member told News24 she had rejected multiple university offers after completing matric in 2024, including a potential opportunity to study medicine abroad.
19-year-old Mpho Jongani from North West, rejected multiple university offers after completing matric in 2024, including a potential opportunity to study medicine abroad.
She said she had come to believe that ambition and professional success gratified “the desires of the flesh” and competed with devotion to God.
Others made similar sacrifices, leaving jobs and relocating from different provinces.
The group’s practices sparked deeper concern after one member disclosed that she had stopped taking antiretroviral (ARV) medication, citing faith in divine healing.
She said she had also withdrawn her 14-year-old son from school because she believed formal education conflicted with biblical teachings.
Last week, the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) visited the site to assess the situation amid growing public concern.
Questions were raised about child welfare, healthcare decisions, and whether members were being influenced or pressured to abandon critical services and opportunities.
Sibiya has consistently denied any coercion, insisting that members make independent decisions based on personal conviction.
In response to criticism, Sibiya disputed the characterisation of the communal site as a church.
“This was not a church. It has never been a church,” he said on Tuesday.
It was a place where we stayed together and taught each other the Bible and the word of God. As the name says, ‘Ikhaya labafundi (home of the disciples)’.
He described the group’s lifestyle as one rooted in self-denial and intentional separation from mainstream society.
Members farmed vegetables, reared livestock, and aimed to reduce reliance on commercial supply chains as part of their spiritual commitment to self-sufficiency.
“We were trying to isolate ourselves from the world,” he said, arguing that society does not abide by what they believe God requires.
Despite being ordered to vacate the land, Sibiya said the movement would continue.
“They may remove us from the land if that is what is decided, but they cannot remove what we believe. We will continue preaching wherever we are. We just won’t be together in one place.”
One of the traditionalists told News24 that Sibiya was supposed to inform the local chief that he wanted to build a church, not a homestead.
“What he was doing was not legal. You can’t have over 40 people at your house and not report them to the local authority. If one dies, what will happen? If they are involved in crime, what will we do? So that is why they were told by the Inkosi to leave,” he said.
He said the local authority would visit Sibiya soon, probably on Wednesday, to establish if their order had been followed.
