KwasizaBantu leader Erlo Stegen takes former law and order minister Adrian Vlok on a tour of the mission, accompanied by a young Koos Greef (far right). Photo: Courtesy Koos Greef
The founder and director of the controversial KwaSizabantu Mission (KSB) in KwaZulu-Natal, which was recently cleared of allegations of rape and human rights abuses after an investigation by the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities, died on Tuesday morning.
The KSB confirmed in a statement that Erlo Stegen, 88, had died. It said Stegen had told staff members not to mourn his death and described it as “a call to his children, to his co-workers, ministers of the gospel throughout the world and the church of Jesus Christ to spread the gospel to all”.
But several former residents and survivors who experienced and witnessed the alleged abuses at the mission some 30 years ago, have lamented that Stegen will now be “deified” in death.
KwaSizanbantu said Stegen had “devoted every moment of his life to God’s cause” after hearing “the call of God” to win men for Christ at an early age and that millions of visitors have passed through his ministry and received help and spiritual assistance.
But former residents, survivors and those who blew the whistle on alleged rape, child and human rights abuses at the mission will disagree.
Survivor Erika Borman, whose book, Mission of Malice, tells of her experiences of abuse at the mission and vows to “be a thorn in their side until they stop breaking the spirits of children in their care”, said: “The deification of Erlo Stegen, leader of KwaSizabantu, will reach new heights now that he’s dead. I just know the world is a better place today with him no longer in it. I won’t mourn him, I mourn the lives he destroyed with his poisonous doctrines and abusive practices.”
Borman spearheaded the investigation into the mission that highlighted victims’ stories in the documentary Exodus, which led to the rights commission’s investigation.
“In my final interaction with him, he told me God’s curse was on my life. I don’t believe in hell. He, however, did and condemned many of us to its flames and eternal damnation. I sure wish there was a hell for him and his ilk,” Bornman said.
Another survivor, who asked not to be named, said Stegen’s death marked “an end of a chapter for me”.
“I am just glad it is over. For me it is a small step to healing,” she said.
The commission issued its report almost three years after it held a series of emotionally charged hearings involving more than 20 witnesses, including former employees, residents and pastors.
Among the allegations were complaints about rapes, sexual abuse, domestic abuse where children were publicly beaten with plumbing pipes filled with sand until they bled or fainted, forced virginity testing, labour abuse and racial discrimination where black children were forced to cut their hair.
The report largely cleared the mission of the allegations, while acknowledging some of the victim’s experiences, and advised survivors to file complaints with the police. Survivors have filed an application for the findings and recommendations of the report to be reviewed in the Johannesburg high court.
The mission station is in Kranskop between Greytown and KwaDukuza and includes a successful multi-billion rand farming business and aQuellé spring water bottling facility on the 550 hectare Emsini Farm. It also runs Domino Servite School and a drug rehabilitation centre.