The new Issue Paper released by the South African Law Reform Commission has confirmed the following:
a) the Witchcraft Suppression Act’s prohibition of identifying as a witch and professing knowledge of witchcraft is unconstitutional, and b) the Act’s prohibition of engaging in divinations is unconstitutional.
DAMON LEFF. There should be no excuse for spiritual, emotional and psychological abuse committed by well-meaning educators against pupils of public schools. Learners have been warned not to play a harmless game of chance called Charlie Charlie because, in the words of exorcist Moulana Nazeem Salie, who was invited by Prince George Primary School to assist educators in preventing the game from being played, “The game you are playing is making deals with the devil and we do not belong to evil, we belong to God.”
DAMON LEFF. Public schools are neither Christian nor religious schools, they are secular schools in which diverse religions are legally permitted to be taught in Life Orientation classes in a non-partisan way only! That includes Occult religions such as Paganism, Witchcraft and Satanism, none of which may legally be classified by Gauteng MEC for Education Panyaza Lesufi or the Department of Education as “harmful religions”!
DAMON LEFF. Before I embark on an excursion into winter wonderland let me make something perfectly clear, this article is not an attempt to prevent you from casting your vote if you feel compelled to do so. Follow the dictate of your own conscience. This article is about why I will not vote for any one of the 29 political parties who will be contesting South Africa’s national elections on May 7 2014.
DAMON LEFF. Don’t be fooled by the S.A. Prayer Movement for Change. They’re not praying for peaceful elections; they’re praying for the violent destruction and suppression of identified religious and gender minorities. Is inciting the general public to psychically and spiritually attack Witches, Freemasons, Muslims, Pagans, Esoterics and Satanists through prayer protected under the constitutional guarantee to religious belief? Are curses by Christians not equally actionable? If not, is it because they are ineffective, or because they are sanctioned by the state?
DAMON LEFF. South African mainstream media is complicit in engendering moral panic. An unfair criticism of journalists, editors and media publications? No! Resurgent moral panic has taken hold of our nation’s psyche and the evidence suggests the South African media (with minuscule exception) is completely complicit.
DAMON LEFF. Accusations of Witchcraft continue to discriminate against those accused, but they also serve to further marginalize an already existing religious minority that identifies Witchcraft as its religion. South African media, with very few exceptions, has paid scant attention to ongoing witch-hunts and even less to advocacy against witchcraft accusations in this country. In the name of the victims of witchcraft accusation past and present, I appeal to South African and international journalists and editors to demonstrate bold courage in supporting this ongoing struggle for human rights, justice and dignity in South Africa.
DAMON LEFF. City Press journalist Nokuthula Manyathi incorrectly alleged that MWEB had apologised to SAPRA, and attributed a false statement to SAPRA’s director. But the article highlighted another common offending error, one committed by virtually all South African editors – an editorial stylebook bias against Pagans.