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{\title SUBMISSION TO THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION BY IBANDLA LAMA NAZARETH ON THE 18TH BY MTHEMBENI P}{\author RICSA}{\operator RICSA}{\creatim\yr1999\mo6\dy15\hr16\min19}{\revtim\yr1999\mo6\dy15\hr16\min19}{\version2}{\edmins0}{\nofpages14}
{\nofwords3206}{\nofchars18277}{\*\company University of Cape Town}{\nofcharsws22445}{\vern71}}\paperw11909\paperh16834\margl720\margr720\margt1080\margb1080 \widowctrl\ftnbj\aenddoc\hyphcaps0\viewkind4\viewscale101\viewzk2 \fet0\sectd 
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\par SUBMISSION TO THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION BY IBANDLA LAMA NAZARETH ON THE 18}{\f1\fs29\super\cgrid0 TH}{\f1\fs29\cgrid0  BY MTHEMBENI P. MPANZA.
\par 
\par 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 On behalf of lbandla lama Nazareth and its leader uBaba Vimbeni Mbusi SHEMBE, 1 wish to extend our humble gratitude to the National Chairp
erson of the T.R.C. for having deemed it proper for us to participate in the faith community hearings of the sufferings, humiliations and oppressions undergone by various communities during the apartheid era.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 As you all might be aware, Ibandla lamaNazaret
h is a unique church. It is ironic that whilst it is one of the biggest churches founded by Africans, it is the most easily forgotten when it comes to matters affecting the nation. Maybe it is due to its over simplicity and humility which has dominated it
s leadership for decades. It is therefore no wonder that it was only on the 12 }{\fs16\cgrid0 th }{\fs27\cgrid0 November 1997 that we learnt that we were also invited in these hearings.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 For the sake of those who have no background of this church, I will first, briefly outline the sourc
e of its existence, its teachings and beliefs, and thereafter the sufferings, humiliations and oppressions it experienced during the apartheid period.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 Without the mentioning of the name SHEMBE, ibandla lama Nazaretha is non-existent. The name SHEMBE, apar
t from the fact that it is a surname, was the name given to the Prophet Isaiah SHEMBE by his grandfather, Nhliziyo.}{\cgrid0  }{\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 \page }{\f1\fs26\cgrid0 \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery709\footery709\colsx709\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \nowidctlpar\adjustright \fs20\lang2057\cgrid {\fs27\cgrid0 
The followers of the Prophet Isaiah SHEMBE are therefore commonly known by the outsiders as the Shembeites or Ibandla lakwa Shembe.
\par 
\par The Prophet Isaiah Shembe was born at Ntabamhlophe in the district of Escourt, inKwa Zulu about 1865 and when he was about nine years old his parents moved to Ntabazwe in the district of Harrismith, where he grew up till marriage.
\par 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 The prophet was born from th
e traditionally rural Zulus who belonged to no church or faith. He never attended school from his boyhood, and until he was about 15 years, he had never been in contact with Christians nor had he ever seen or heard of the Bible. At his early boyhood he ha
d many visions which came to him in the form of a voice from the firmament.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 Before Isaiah SHEMBE knew anything about Christianity or the Bible, he spoke of God with whom he claimed to be in communication, who he knew. as }{\fs27\ul\cgrid0 Inkosi }{\fs27\cgrid0 or }{\fs27\ul\cgrid0 
Umvelinq
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\ul\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 This voice, which usually came with thunder and lightning directed his life, and was the source of all the teachings and the beliefs he at a later stage instilled in the minds of his followers.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 Later, when Isaiah SHEMBE had already been in communication with his God he.
met the Bible. Through the mysterious powers of his revelations he was able to read it, basing his understanding of it from the visionary messages he received from }{\fs27\ul\cgrid0 uMvelinqangi. }{\fs27\cgrid0 Although later he was in contact with the

\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx269\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par \page \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery709\footery709\colsx709\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright \fs20\lang2057\cgrid {\fs27\cgrid0 Christians he never relied on th
e Christian interpretation of the Bible, but he read and understood it as he was guided by the visionary messages.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 The prophet, although from his boyhood he was always in communication with God, he never joined any church till he got married according to Zulu custom.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\li173\nowidctlpar\tx178\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 After having married his forth wife God ordered him to leave all his wives, his children and the family at large and follow Him. This, SHEMBE eventually complied with.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx178\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\fi58\nowidctlpar\tx58\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 From that time Isaiah SHEMBE became the greatest prophet this country eve
r produced. In 1910 he came to Natal still preaching the Word of God, healing and performing all kinds of miracles in his ministry. In 1911 he founded his mission station at Inanda near Durban, called Ekuphakameni which became the headquarters of his chur
ch. In 1913 he was led by the Holy Spirit to the Mount iNhlangakazi which is a distance of about 80km from Durban. From that year to this day aMa\_Nazaretha bare\_
footedly undertake this pilgrimage in hundred thousands or millions, yearly to worship God, on the Mount iNhlangakazi, for the period of two weeks.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx9609\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 As I have pointed out earlier, iBandla la ma Nazaretha is very unique if one approaches it from the Christian perspective, because, although ama Nazaretha use the Bible in their teachings, Isaiah SHEMBE,
 as a prophet, did not regard the Bible as his sole authority of his teachings, but as a reference to his main authority, which is God. As a prophet, Isaiah SHEMBE, was converted by no man but God. The Bible was there to support and confirm his authority.

\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
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\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx259\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 \page \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery709\footery709\colsx709\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx206\adjustright \fs20\lang2057\cgrid {\fs27\cgrid0 1
\par 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
It is therefore through this that it is not very correct to categorise I Bandla lamaNazaretha as one of the Independent Churches, for it was never part of any Christian teachings but it is part of the biblical teachings revealed to the Prophet thro
ugh the might of the Almighty. This church can also not be categorised under traditional religions for the simple reason that whilst traditional religions base their teaching on "}{\fs27\ul\cgrid0 Izwi labantu" }{\fs27\cgrid0 
which is the voice of the people, iBandla lamaNazaretha bases its teachings on "}{\fs27\ul\cgrid0 Izwi LeZulu" }{\fs27\cgrid0 which is the voice of Heaven which came to the prophet, and through him spread to all the people.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\li260\nowidctlpar\tx278\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 The prophet explored the name amaNazaretha to its biblical roots as being the only name given by God to the believers, namely t
he "Nazarites."  The prophet outlawed drinking of any beverages including beer-drinking or sorghum beer. He also outlawed smoking of any kind, albeit they are part of African tradition, for they are incompatible with the laws relating to the Nazarites. Is
a
iah SHEMBE regarded beer-drinking and smoking as health hazard and not suitable for amaNazaretha. He further outlawed pre-marital sexual intercourse, the use of medicine as a form of healing, the practice of divination or sorcery, the use of mediums or Sp
i
ritists (Izangoma) although this formed part of African tradition, for such practises are repugnant to biblical teaching. Isaiah SHEMBE allowed polygamy and when confronted by Christians his reply was simply this, " I was not sent by man, but by God and G
od did not tell me of a sin called polygamy, those who sin are the ones who divorce and thereafter take another wife."
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx278\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 From its inception this church, under its founder and subsequent successors in leadership grew very fastly and as Mrs Wells confirmed in 
her manuscript entitled "SHEMBE." "Everywhere chapels, churches and schools were
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx267\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 \page \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery709\footery709\colsx709\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright \fs20\lang2057\cgrid {\fs27\cgrid0 
emptied as SHEMBE approached and the people crowded to listen with great joy. Immorality was driven to shame, mental snobbery was pricked like a bubble, and a simple folk we
aring skins or next to nothing accepted the gospel with great joy, and were baptised, then the greatest enemy were the missionaries who then waged warfare against SHEMBE, because as they said, he was undoing much, if not most of what they had done. They h
ad taught people to wear clothes, and now SHEMBE said it did not matter if the people wore little or nothing, if they were modest and clean and loved the Lord".
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 This warfare against SHEMBE by the Missionaries had a very negative impact on the growth of thi
s church. Because of the short time given to me to prepare for this hearing I am unable to give all the specific incidents led to the sufferings, scorn, persecution and false misrepresentation against the church from the time of the Prophet to this day.

\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 T
he Missionaries had vowed to wipe it off from its existence and in so doing, they agitated the government of the day to thwart all its activities. For example it is a fact that there were laws which were passed in Natal forbidding SHEMBE to enter the Blac
k
 Reserve if he did not have permission from the magistrate and the Durban municipality forbad him to enter the locations. All SHEMBE's moves were closely monitored, for his was not regarded as a church but a somewhat political movement under the cloak of 
religion.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
As Mrs Wells further revealed, SHEMBE was much hated by the Missionaries. She further stated: "I remember a certain European Superintendant of Missions meeting me outside the Town hall in Durban, and accusing and denouncing SHEMBE with much heat.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qr\nowidctlpar\tqr\tx258\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 5
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx258\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par \page \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery709\footery709\colsx709\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright \fs20\lang2057\cgrid {\fs27\cgrid0 
He brought his clenched fist down in his open palm and affirmed (Shembe) works those wonders through the power of the Devil" "Have you ever seen SHEMBE, or have you been present at a healing service ? I asked gently ? "No!" said the Superintendant, 
"and I don't want to be or see him, all I want and intend to do is to crush him out of existence."
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 The government, through the influence of the missionaries, was an important machinery to crush this church out of existence. SHEMBE was told in no uncertain
 terms that his was not a church. In 1931 he was called to Pietermaritzburg where he was told to demolish all his church settlements, that he was not allowed to build any church house or to use the church bell in calling people to the church service. It t
herefore came to pass that the Nazarites developed a culture of worshipping God whilst seated under the trees and calling people to the church service by shouting loudly.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qj\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 As I have pointed out, the church had long been instructed never to build church hous
es or to establish any further church settlements. The church was ordered to demolish even those houses which were already existing. In 1950, the successor in leadership, the Lord of EkuPhakameni, uBaba Johannes Galilee SHEMBE built a big church house at 
E
kuPhakameni with the installation of the church bell. He was then confronted by local missionaries and the government and was again reminded that his was not a church and therefore the building of that church house and the installation of the church bell 
was repugnant to the government. The church building and the bell was then confined to EkuPhakameni only.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qr\nowidctlpar\tqr\tx276\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 6
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx276\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 \page \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery709\footery709\colsx709\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \li196\nowidctlpar\tx206\adjustright \fs20\lang2057\cgrid {\fs27\cgrid0 
The question facing the church was how to spread its Gospel at the face of the Government's restrictions, but, when men propose, God disposes. The
 Prophet had instructed his son and successor in leadership, Johannes, to take many wives. According to Zulu custom a man is entitled to establish his home when he has a wife, and a man can have as many homes as his wives. Whenever Johannes Galilee Shembe
 
wanted to establish the church settlement he pointed out to Amakhosi that he was a man with many children and he wanted the land for his children. When the land was then allocated to him it became the church settlement and the government was unable to att
a
ck him as the home was always registered in his personal name; so was everything which belonged to the church. The struggle in favour of the church's recognition was fought for years, until in 1985 when the church joined R.I.C.A. and was assisted by Bisho
p RPB Mokoena.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx206\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
The death of the Prophet Isiah Shembe in 1935 brought in great joy amongst the Missionaries in Natal. Their aim, as the Superintendent had vowed was to see to it that not only Shembe was dead, but that everything about him was interred with his bones.

\par 
\par They met and discussed the matter and thereafter sent to Galilee Shembe a very Prominent Black Leader Dr L. Dube to convince the successor in leadership that it was not worth his education to lead Ibandla la ma Nazaretha which is full of "Amaqa
ba" or heathens. As Galilee once put it in his sermons: "After my father's death , there were many clever people who advised me to abandon this church and join the Wesley Church or American Board.
\par \page \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery709\footery709\colsx709\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \nowidctlpar\adjustright \fs20\lang2057\cgrid {\fs27\cgrid0 They promised me money to go overseas where I was to be t
rained as a Ministers so that I could come back and become their priest. "This church of your farther's is wrong , it takes the people away from the path of God." The first person to say this was a Black man. He said: "These people will give you trouble, 
f
or they are not educated, you will not be able to lead them. After two months I met a white man in Durban who knew my father. He said: "Is it you who took over from the work of Shembe?" I said "yes" He then said : "No man, what can you do, you cannot rule
 
Black people. Black people always fight. By the way, you say that you do not drink liquor. You shall see all of them drinking, and if you talk to them they will fight you. Leave these people, If you want to be a priest, go to American Board, or to the Wes
ley Church and be a priest there." I did not reply this White man, but I wondered how his talk came to be the same as that of a Black man who had come to tell me the same story."
\par 
\par When they realised that they were failing to persuade Galilee Shembe to aband
on the church. They devised another plan aimed at a complete annihilation of the Prophet and his work from the face of the earth. The story was systematically concocted that a self styled Prophet, an impostor, Isiah Shembe told his followers that, like th
e
 Prophet Elijah , would be taken to heaven by a heavenly chariot. He then took his followers to Mount Intlaugakazi to see him fly to heaven. When he was on the mountain he attached feathers on his bodies and when he jumped on the mountain, trying to fly h
e fell on the rocks and died.
\par }\pard \qr\nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 8.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 \page \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery709\footery709\colsx709\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \li178\nowidctlpar\tx186\adjustright \fs20\lang2057\cgrid {\fs27\cgrid0 
He was caricatured in local news papers read by Black Society as another Nongqawuza who had led many Blacks astray. At schools which were controlled by the Missionaries , the story of Shembe trying to fly was told as a his
toric fact . We Nazarite children daily suffered the scorn, humiliation and mental trauma caused by this everyday insult hurled against us, not only by the children, but by our class teacher our principals and local priests who came to conduct morning pra
y
ers at school. What caused a lot of conflict in us was that we did not know whether the story was true or not, for it was being told by our teachers, whilst at home it was refuted by our parents. When we reported the story to our parents they became so bi
tter, and, like my mother, would start weeping soberly, and at the end we all found ourselves weeping.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx186\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \li178\nowidctlpar\tx186\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 Like many Nazarite children who ended up leaving the school, there was a stage where I also wondered whether it was worth it for me to continue with scho
oling because of the scorn I constantly received from the teachers because of Shembe . This ridicule and harassment of the children at school caused many Nazarites children to leave schooling at lower classes or backslid from the church. So, for a long ti
me, the church became known as the church of the uneducated.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx186\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 Apart from the scorn about Isiah Shembe's allegedly attempted flight to heaven the Nazarite children , like all the Nazarites do not shave their hair or beard. Any resistance was met with severe 
corporal punishment, insult and other teachers used to roughly cross - shave them so that at the end they look more or less like Mr T. and were told to go to Shembe Schools which were non - existent.
\par \page \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery709\footery709\colsx709\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \nowidctlpar\adjustright \fs20\lang2057\cgrid {\fs27\cgrid0 Since shaving is strongly tabooed in the church, the f
orceful removal of their hair is tantamount to the denial of their faith. This cruel treatment by many teachers , which still occurred even today, caused the Nazarite parents to take their children out of school.
\par 
\par }\pard \li205\nowidctlpar\tx209\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 The Nazarites usually do not marry accordi
ng to Christian rites for polygamy is allowed in the church. What therefore happens is that to complete marriage the Nazareth has to undergo three phases. Firstly the marriage is ceremonies in the church by the priest. but that wedding is not recognised b
y
 the government. The second phase is a traditional wedding which is ceremonised by the chiefs witness who has no interest in that wedding. These outsiders usually come drunk in this wedding and make it nothing more than a mockery. The third phase is that 
the bride, the bridegrooms their parents and the chief's witness have to go to the Magistrate office to have the marriage registered. The priest from the church is irrelevant.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx209\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx9414\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 Isiah Shembe , as a Prophet, taught his people to respect the authorities, but p
romised that through our constant prayer and supplication to God one day God will a answer our prayers. In 1920 he composed a Sabbath liturgy which he instructed the Nazarites that it will be read before God three times every Sabbath Day from Generations 
t
o Generation. In the introduction of the liturgy he wrote that it is the hymn of the Sabbath, the hymn of remembrance from generations to generations and the hymn of fasting in order to remind God of our sufferings . Isiah Shembe also taught that the Naza
rites must live a simple life and that every year they must walk on foot to Mount Inhlangakazi to worship God and report all their sufferings.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx155\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \qr\nowidctlpar\tqr\tx543\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 10
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx543\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 \page \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery709\footery709\colsx709\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \nowidctlpar\adjustright \fs20\lang2057\cgrid {\fs27\cgrid0 
So, for AmaNazaretha , whenever they were confronted by the Government or other Missionary churches, all they had to do was to ask the congregation to kneel down and have }{\fs27\ul\cgrid0 "Isiguqo" }{\fs27\cgrid0 which is a special prayer to God.
\par 
\par Having said all this, it is important that we show the way forward. On behalf of my church I now extend my hand of friendship to all those who made 
us suffer and in the words of Jesus Christ we say: forgive them Lord, for they did not know what they were doing.
\par 
\par On Sunday afternoon when the T.R.C National Chairperson Archbishop Desmond Tutu was conducting church service in his sermon he said that we a
re all partners to God, we are here to assist God to mould this country and to make it fit living in. In my view the religious community is too big and cannot fail to do this, if only we clearly understand what our mission is. This is irrespective of whet
her we are Christians, Nazarites Jews, Moslems, Hindus or traditional religions.
\par 
\par }\pard \fi-215\li215\nowidctlpar\tx215\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 Our main mission is to work for God, and working for God means doing what God appreciates. Whilst we are liberated politically, we must acknowledge that there is a fast deteri
oration of humanity in our society which is reaching an intolerable level. We have to focus our attention as churches and faith communities on this reality.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx215\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
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As religious people we must not allow ourselves to be too much influenced by political rhetor
ic which are only meant to win votes, but we must face the truth as it is. It is our duty as religious people in South Africa , to put aside our religious differences , and to work for a common goal of making South Africa become a decent country. In doing
 this we have to look at the causes of our problems.
\par 
\par }\pard \fi-226\li226\nowidctlpar\tx226\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
It seems to me that amongst us Blacks there is a culture of indolence, lack of work ethics and general irresponsibility which we have to address without fail. We cannot expect other people to do so, lest
 they be labelled as racists. The greatest enemy of a Black man is liquor. As long as we are producing the generation of drunkards we can forget about decent society. Drunkenness always goes hand in hand with laziness, irresponsibility and uncouthness. We
 can think of many projects, create many jobs but unless we address this problem seriously, we are just wasting our times. I would be failing in my duty as Shembe's representative if I were not to tell the truth as he would if he were here today.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tx226\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 It is qui
te interesting to listen to other people confessing their sins, and we tend to regard ourselves as holier that thou. But time will tell, and is already telling that there is a lot which is lacking in Black Society. The greatest mistake we can make is to f
ail to appreciate our weaknesses and keep on blaming others for all our iniquities. A person with that kind of attitude can never correct himself.
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx9469\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 
\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 There are issues in Black Society which must be publicly addressed by Blacks themselves without fear.
\par 
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\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\tqr\tx537\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 \page \sect }\sectd \sbknone\linex0\headery709\footery709\colsx709\sectdefaultcl \pard\plain \li163\nowidctlpar\tx163\tx5894\tqr\tx9504\adjustright \fs20\lang2057\cgrid {\fs27\cgrid0 A
part from indulgence in liquor, the culture of indolence and general lack of work ethics prevailing amongst our society is an issue we must address very seriously. We seem to be very good in uniting ourselves when we are going to 
fight, when we are going to burn schools or neck lace other people; when we are toyi\_toying, when we strike for the reduction of work hours and an increase to six months maternity leave ; but there is such a discord, quarrel 
and enmity amongst ourselves when it comes to the issue of the real socio \_economic development of our country.
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\par The taxi industry is typical of what I am talking about. Why do these people keep on killing each other, why can't these people organise themselves peacefully like whites or Indians? The answer from the pol
iticians will be that this is as a result of the legacy of apartheid or the third force.
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\par }\pard \li215\nowidctlpar\tx221\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 My church has a very big following which has now more or less five million members. Because drinking liquor strongly tabooed, I am very proud to say, without fear o
f contradictions, that AmaNazaretha are amongst the most hard working , trust worthy and reliable people in the black Society, where they are in the majority.
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\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 It is unfortunate that many Christians denominations, unlike the moslems and other faith communities, for reason not clear to me, only pay lip service to this epidemic.
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\par }\pard \nowidctlpar\adjustright {\fs27\cgrid0 Ibandla Lama Nazarite unlike many Christian churches is able to recruit membership from different communities amongst the Blacks. The secret lies in its simplicity. A person does not have to think
 of what dress, trouser, suite or shoe he must wear when coming to the church service. All we emphasise is that he must be clean. If he is living at a place where there is no water he is still encouraged to come to the church service to listen to the 
word of God.
\par 
\par As Dr Becken once put it, Ibandla Lama Nazarites is the fruit of an organic growth of Christianity on the African Soil, an Institution in which the Gospel message is incarnated into African culture, mentality and communi
ty life and the Africans are there to worship God in an African manner in order to address the mentality and the needs of Africans in a way in which Africans sense their spiritual and social needs.
\par 
\par In KwaZulu \_ Natal and Gauteng, where the Nazarite's are in big number, this church has converted many hostel dwellers, thus able to unite the more sophisticated township people with the rural people. Because the church addre
sses the hearts of the people, I have seen many warlords, not throwing away their stick
s, but changing their sticks into staffs and using these staffs for healing instead of beating. The shields used for the fighting are then used for dancing for the lord. The war \_cries then changed into the praise of the Almighty.
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\par In conclusion, I wish to say that we as a church shall endeavarer to appeal to the hearts of many to promote decency, hard work and self reliance in developing our country.
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