MKP questions Catholic Church suspension of priest candidate - IOL

The Catholic Church has suspended its priest Fr Jabulani Ndaba for standing for political office without seeking permission from the church's superiors.

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) has questioned the Catholic Church’s decision to suspend its eShowe ward councillor candidate for uMhlathuze Municipality, Father Jabulani Ndaba, who is also a Catholic priest.

In a letter seen by the Sunday Tribune, Ndaba was informed on Monday, September 21, that he had been suspended from active priestly ministry with effect from September 19 by the Apostolic Administrator of eShowe, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier.

The suspension followed Ndaba’s decision to stand for political office without the knowledge or permission of his church superiors, according to the letter. His suspension may now make him choose between the pulpit or politics.

MKP spokesperson Sifiso Mahlangu, who is also a pastor, said ideally Ndaba should have notified the church of his intention to enter politics because “he was in the full employ of the church.”

“In the first instance, I don’t imagine the church to have acted correctly by suspending him. Did the church engage him? Why would they suspend him without proper engagement?” said Mahlangu.

He said the MKP had several members who were church leaders.

“I am a pastor and preacher, and I don’t imagine this (a priest becoming a politician) to be a problem, maybe with Catholics it is because it’s a full-time thing or because it is MKP,” he said.

Napier’s letter stated that Ndaba had been suspended for “accepting political office without prior permission from his rightful ecclesiastical superior”.

“This decision has been taken in accordance with the provisions of Canon Law and strictly follows the appropriate canonical procedure.

“Fr. Ndaba is therefore not to exercise public priestly ministry, including the celebration of Mass and the sacraments, preaching, pastoral ministry, or any other ecclesiastical ministry, until further notice,” the letter read.

Napier declined to comment, saying Ndaba’s matter was being handled internally.

Ndaba also declined to comment, saying this could put him in further trouble with the church.

“Since I am suspended, anything I say can be used against or for me,” said Ndaba.

He said his lawyer had advised him not to speak to the media about his decision to contest the ward seat for the MKP.

Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa who was an Deputy Minister of Education and first Executive Mayor of Tshwane.

Ndaba is not the first Catholic priest to face disciplinary action over political involvement. Fr Hyacinth Alia was suspended in 2022 by the Catholic Diocese of Gboko in Benue State, Nigeria, after he declared his candidacy for governor. Fr Alia won the election by a wide margin and became governor in 2023.

Catholic clergy have, however, also previously held public office in South Africa.

Father Simangaliso Mkhatshwa, an anti-apartheid activist, served as an ANC Member of Parliament during Nelson Mandela’s presidency and later became deputy minister of education. He was subsequently elected executive mayor of the City of Tshwane in 2000.

Sister Bernard Ncube, a Catholic nun and anti-apartheid activist, was elected an ANC MP in 1994. She chaired the parliamentary committee on Arts, Culture, Science and Technology and later served as mayor of the West Rand District Municipality from 2002.

Sister Bernard Ncube being inaugurated at the Randfontein council offices.

A head of one of South Africa’s Catholic seminaries, who declined to be named, said he was aware of Ndaba’s suspension and that church leaders were not permitted to publicly associate themselves with political parties.

As the person responsible for training priests, he said, “priests cannot be politicians”.

“If they become politicians, it means they divide the community because the community may have people from different political parties, but they relate to their priest who should be neutral,” he said.

He said priests had a responsibility to encourage people to exercise their voting rights and to strive for justice, but should not take sides because they ministered to people belonging to different political parties.

He said Mkhatshwa’s involvement in politics was different because he had entered politics in the struggle against apartheid.

He said Mkhatshwa was initially deployed to Parliament to represent the church but later joined the ANC.

“Thereafter he stepped down from practicing as a priest,” he said, adding that Mkhatshwa returned to the priesthood after ending his political activism.