Urging people to stop taking ARVs is ‘nothing less than genocide’: KZN health MEC

KwaZulu-Natal health MEC Nomagugu Simelane has condemned a religious community based at iKhaya Labafundi in KwaMaphumulo which allegedly encourages members to abandon modern medicine, including life-savingantiretroviral (ARV) treatment, in favour of faith healing. Speaking at the department’s Easter weekend church wellness outreach programme hosted by the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa in uMzinyathi, Simelane said there was a clear distinction between condemning dangerous health misinformation and respecting religious freedom. According to media reports, the group, led by Vusumuzi Sibiya, who calls himself a messenger, started the mission in 2010.

Despite government efforts to shut him down and take away his children who weren’t sent to school, Sibiya regrouped. He currently has a number of followers who have allegedly turned their back on the outside world, including education, professional careers and medical intervention. Instead, they prefer to be self-sufficient, relying on farming for food and faith to help with other issues.

“As a department, we respect the autonomy of the religious sector and do not seek to dictate matters of faith. However, we have a duty to act when faced with allegations that people are being misled in ways that could cost lives,” said Simelane. We all remember what HIV did to our communities before the arrival of ARVs: the funerals, the orphans, the wasting away.

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We will not take our people back to that dark time “If it is true that any person is encouraging followers to stop their ARVs, that behaviour is dangerous and cannot be tolerated. It is, in effect, a way of killing people slowly.“ She said such actions amount to genocide against people living with HIV. We will not take our people back to that dark time.” Simelane said there is no cure for HIV/Aids.

ARVs do not cure the virus, but they prolong life, restore immune systems, and allow people living with HIV to lead normal, healthy lives while reducing the risk of transmitting the virus to others. “Stopping ARV treatment has serious consequences. It leads to viral rebound, deterioration of health, potential death, and increased risk of transmission to others. Spreading misinformation on this matter cannot be taken lightly,” she warned.

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