Church leaders condemn ANC

2011-10-18 23:21

Cape Town - Church leaders have condemned the ANC for trying to "muscle in on" church leadership structures, but the party says it was all an innocent mistake.

The National Church Leaders' Consultation (NCLC) reacted after ANC Chief Whip Mathole Motshekga's political adviser Livhuwani Matsila arrived at a meeting at a hotel near OR Tambo International Airport, in Kempton Park.

"The National Church Leaders' Consultation strongly resents the efforts of Dr Motshekga, the ANC parliamentary caucus and the ANC desk for cultural and religious affairs to muscle in on and manipulate church leadership structures," the group said in a statement.

"We are deeply offended by efforts by Mr Livhuwani Matsila and others to infiltrate our meeting in Johannesburg without invitation.

"Members of the ANC arrived and wanted to be admitted to the meeting, but they had not been invited."

Motshekga's office said it had noted the NCLC's statement "with grave regret".

"The accusation stems from an innocent mistake today, in which the chief whip's political adviser mistakenly walked into the hall where the National Church Leaders' Consultation was meeting," Motshekga's office said.

"The meeting, which the political adviser was due to attend, happened to be taking place at the same venue, the Southern Sun Hotel, but in a different hall."

After being informed by the chairperson of the meeting that he was in the wrong hall, Matsila duly apologised for the confusion caused and proceeded to the next hall, the correct venue for his meeting.

Motshekga was not part of this confusion and he was not present at the venue where the two meetings were taking place.

"Walking into the wrong meeting is a simple mistake that anyone can make. We are therefore taken aback that the church leaders are turning this little, innocent incident into something major."

The NCLC includes the leadership of the Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, Dutch Reformed, and Presbyterian churches, the Salvation Army and the International Federation of Christian Churches.

- SAPA