The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, a Brazilian-led Christian church has had its fair share of controversy since it first established roots in Africa.
The church has previously been accused of performing Satanic rituals and has been banned in several African countries.
This weekend during the CRL (Cultural, religious and linguistic communities) Commission hearings, a number of pastors revealed that the church did vasectomies on them during their studies so they could not have children.
This was done without their consent, they said.
“The church decided on our behalf. They booked appointments for us in Pretoria, ” revealed Pastor Bongani Manyisa as he gave a testimony at the commission.
Vasectomy is a surgical practice on male to sterilize or permanently stop one from having kids. During the procedure, the doctor cuts and/or ties the male vasa deferentia so as to prevent sperm from getting out during the sexual intercourse.
When asked about how this was done on them without their consent, Manyisa says their lives were literally getting controlled by the church and there was nothing they could do.
“We were only allowed to read what was church related. We had no privacy. Someone would just barge in while you are asleep at your place and search for phones and laptops,” he said.
Another pastor, Amos Ngququ said the church was training them to have one mandate – to make money for the church hence it was strict on how they should do so.
“We were told to shear the wool until the skin shows, or they would say, ‘don’t leave them until they bleed’.”
This is not the first time the church has been accused of such weird practices.
A few years ago, it got banned by the Zambian government for allegedly giving congregants human blood during service and performing Satanic rituals
There has been many unconfirmed bizzare stories about the church in neigbouring Zimbabwe, but Universal Church has always mantained its innocence.
The CRL has pleaded with the church to come forth with their defence on the matter, but the church has not yet responded to the allegations.