Congregants of the Reigners Place International Church in Mthatha stayed away from church on Sunday in the aftermath of raids by Home Affairs on 20 October.

Pastor Chris Ifeanyi said he prepared a sermon to encourage his congregants “to be strong in the Lord and positive no matter what is happening” for Sunday. “But everyone is scared now, including me,” he said.

Ifeanyi was one of the asylum seekers arrested for not having their papers with them on Sunday. He was taken into custody but released when his documentation was presented to the police.

He said it was around 1 pm when home affairs officials and police officers came to his church.

“I was preaching on the pulpit when about two to three vans stopped at the church. The officials were lurking around for some minutes before making an attempt to enter the church. I personally asked the church workers to attend to them. They were informed about the raid. The church workers told them that church service was still on, but I sensed the tension and quickly told the church members to remain calm and allow them to carry out their work.

“The service was interrupted. We were busy dedicating children to the Lord. I am not angry that they raided the church but I am upset about the way it was conducted.

“Yesterday almost nobody attended church. People are scared.”

The Full Gospel Church, mostly attended by asylum seekers and refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was raided on the same occasion.

Late last week the provincial manager of Home Affairs in the Eastern Cape, Gcinile Mabulu, said it was not their original intention to raid the churches. He claimed they were doing inspections at the World Focus Hair Salon nearby and chased people who ran away – into a church. He said they requested permission to search the church and arrested 10 people and the pastor for being undocumented.

Ifeyani said he found the raid on his church “very terrible”.

“I have never seen or heard of such a thing anywhere in the world. We were seven that were arrested at our church. Three were detained and charged. The other four, including myself, were released.”

The executive director of FOR SA (Freedom of Religion South Africa), Michael Swain, said they have always said that illegal or unlawful activity can never be hidden behind claims of freedom of religion.

“These are all matters of law. If true, then the authorities are simply doing what they are entitled (and, arguably, legally obligated) to do,” he added.

But an attorney at the Refugee Right Centre in Port Elizabeth, Liesl Fourie, said there were two judgments confirming that anybody must be given the opportunity to apply for asylum – but backlogs at the Department of Home Affairs were making it very difficult for asylum seekers to access the right documentation.

“The problem is that there is an enormous backlog with the Department of Home Affairs. An asylum seeker can only receive a Section 22 permit once they are physically attending a meeting with a home affairs official. In Port Elizabeth, asylum seekers are now given dates in 2021 just to get into the building,” she said.

She said they have started issuing “protection letters” to tell the police or immigration officials that they are waiting for an appointment to get a Section 22 permit. She said the Department of Home Affairs issues people with a reference number when they are given an appointment.

“But until you have this permit you can’t work legally and you will have trouble accessing medical assistance and getting your children into school.” MC