Pastor Oyakhilome faces being jailed in South Africa for not submitting financial records

CHRIST Embassy Church founder Pastor Chris Oyakhilome is facing the prospect of being jailed in South Africa for financial irregularities if he and his church fail to release their accounting records in line with the country's regulations.

 

Under South Africa's laws, churches are obliged to submit their financial records to the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CPPCRLM). However, several religious leaders in the country have failed to do so and could be jailed if they fail to comply with the commission's demands.

 

‎According to the commission, it was investigating the commercialisation of religion and abuse of people’s beliefs and has summoned several churches to appear before it with their ordination and registration certificates, as well as their bank statements and annual financial statements from 2012.

 

CPPCRLM spokeswoman Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva, said the commission had been forced to take the legal route because some of the church leaders had failed to comply with its directive. Many Nigerian evangelical churches have branches in South Africa and are subsequently obliged to comply with the commission's laws.

 

Ms Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said: “Some of these religious leaders will face prison if they do not comply and we have been clear about our course of action. Some religious leaders have also threatened the commission, which is leading us towards the legal route.”

 

Pastor  Oyakhilome has already indicated he would take a legal action to stop the commission from forcing it to open his books. His church had earlier sought more time to enable it review its financial records.

 

However, Ms Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said they were also considering filing charges of intimidation against religious leaders who had publicly threatened the commission. She added that the commission wondered why some pastors would take money from their followers and, yet refuse to provide their financial records.

 

“These people take money from people but what are they doing with that money? We want to know and we will not back down.

“‎If Pastor 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,” Ms Mkhwanazi-Xaluva added.

 

While most of the old traditional churches in South Africa, including the Catholic Church,‎ the Methodist church, the Presbyterian Church, and the Lutheran Church have requested an extension of time, a lot of the new breed churches had threatened court action. Earlier this month, a South African evangelical pastor, Paseka Motsoeneng, ‎told the commission he would rather go to jail than hand over his financial records.

 

Pastor Motsoeneng , the head of Incredible Happenings Church, is known in the country for his healings and miracles. Like Pastor Oyakhilome, he has asked his lawyers to prevent being compelled to submit his books.