Paul Verryn

In 1989 a media furor erupted following the abduction of four youths and the murder of James Seipei, also known as Stompie Sepei.[9] Verryn had provided accommodation as a place of safety at the Orlando Mission house (Manse) for the four. At the time this was also his residence as the minister for the Soweto Circuit. Verryn was then also prominent as one of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's critics.

On 29 December 1988 the Mandela United Football Club (MUFC) abducted the four boys from the Mission house.[10] The MUFC was a private force of bodyguards, who answered to and were controlled by Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, then Nelson Mandela's wife and a leading anti-apartheid activist. Following the abduction, Madikizela-Mandela alleged that Verryn had been abusing the boys sexually. Some of the boys initially supported the allegation, but later retracted their statements, saying that the MUFC members had forced them to support the claim. Madikizela-Mandela also claimed that Seipei (Moeketsi) was a police informer, a charge which in those days could have resulted in mob execution of the accused.[11] Seipei's body was found on 6 January 1989, dumped on waste ground in Soweto. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that the purpose of the abduction had been to force the boys to accuse Verryn of sexual abuse, and, after hearing testimony from all surviving witnesses and accusers, specifically cleared Verryn of any charges of sexual abuse.[11][12]

The Johannesburg Central Methodist Church, under the leadership of Bishop Paul Verryn, had established a tradition of ministering to the poor and marginalised in the city centre.[16] When the flow of Zimbabwean refugees into South Africa had been significantly reduced, the South African government removed special controls which it had been forced to put in place. However, refugees and illegal immigrants continued to enter the country in relatively limited numbers, mostly from Zimbabwe. Many of them were destitute and jobless as well as being homeless. Over the objections of some of his church members, Verryn offered Johannesburg Central Methodist Church to this need.[16] The steady inflow of refugees soon filled the church, which lacking all suitable facilities, nevertheless accommodated over 1500 refugees who slept on the pews and the floors; anywhere they could find a space.

In 2008 the South African Police raided the church in search of illegal immigrants. About 1500 people were held, in most cases temporarily.[17][18] During 2008 and continuing into 2009 an increasing tide of resentment (labelled "xenophobia" by the media) against these foreigners peaked and broke out into anti-foreigner riots. Many Zimbabwean immigrants (whether legal or illegal), together with Mozambicans, Malawians, Taiwanese and others from any other African country became victims of the violence, losing lives, businesses, jobs and families.[19] The need for a place of safety for Zimbabwean (and other) refugees became urgent. The Zimbabwean refugee ark of Johannesburg Central Methodist Church began to burst at the seams. During the later part of 2008 the police found it necessary to guard the refugees with shotgun armed officers.[20]

Verryn requested the Johannesburg city authorities to provide for the refugees, but at the same time refused to allow immigration authorities to enter the sanctuary of the church to identify illegal immigrants. Early in 2009 the local municipality began to make plans to alleviate the situation at the church.[21]

Meanwhile, inevitably, thefts, fights and assaults occurred among the refugees. Several young girls claimed that they had been raped, or sexually abused. In the latter part of 2009, once again Verryn was accused of abusing children and/or young women among the refugees. An exhaustive investigation by the media revealed no evidence whatever to substantiate the accusations against him. All of the girls who had claimed rape or sexual assault identified men other than Verryn as the guilty ones. The medical staff of Médecins sans Frontières, who by now also worked among the refugees, stated that they had treated only one girl for rape, and that this attack had not taken place at the church.[9] In December, a group of 35 civil society organisations – including the South African Council of Churches, South African Municipal Workers' Union, the Treatment Action Campaign, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, and the South African branches of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch – commended Verryn's efforts as "in the spirit called for from all of us by our Constitution", but said that the situation at the church was "not sustainable" and called for the government to respond to Verryn's longstanding calls for humanitarian assistance.[22][23]

In December 2009, Verryn resigned as Bishop and was replaced by Peter Witbooi,[24][25] but retained his ministry at the Central Methodist Church.[15] However, on 19 January 2010, MCSA suspended Verryn, following an internal disciplinary investigation and pending a formal disciplinary hearing.[26][27] The charges were not disclosed, but the announcement followed reports of tensions between Verryn and MCSA's Presiding Bishop Ivan Abrahams.[27][28][14] It was later clarified that there were two charges against Verryn, both implying that he had transgressed the bounds of his authority.[29] The first charge concerned legal proceedings instituted by Verryn in December 2009 to appoint a curator ad litem to represent the interests of unaccompanied minors living at his church; Verryn had allegedly instituted these proceedings without proper authority. The second charge related to media statements which Verryn had allegedly made even after MCSA had instructed him not to.[15]

Verryn disputed both charges,[15] but said, "I will find another way of working with the poor, with or without the church. They have become my companions."[3] In the end, the charges were never heard in a disciplinary hearing; the charges were dropped in early May 2010 on a technicality (apprehension of bias), and Verryn was reinstated.[15][30]