Exhausted and angry residents of Chiawelo, Soweto have taken a definitive stand against a local church, issuing it marching orders after more than a decade and a half of relentless noise pollution that they say is devastating their health and livelihoods.
The dispute centers on the Unity Fellowship Church, led by Pastor Mpfariseni Mukhuba. Community members allege the church has been disturbing the peace with its services since October 2009, operating without proper public consultation. After years of failed interventions with various city authorities and the police, the community has now escalated the matter to the Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights (CRL) Commission, seeking the church’s removal.
For residents like Grace Peele a nurse clinician, the impact has been severe and professional. “I am drained,” Peele stated. “Sometimes even after this all-night prayer, I have to go to work on Saturday without having had a nap… I feel drowsy during consultation. And it’s a danger to the patients and it also jeopardizes my career.”
Her sentiments are echoed throughout the neighborhood. One resident pleaded, “I just want to see Mukhuba gone from the site,” while another declared, “I want this church to go somewhere because we are very, very tired of this church.”
The conflict has a long and fraught history. Community spokesperson Peele explained that petitions and appeals to the City of Johannesburg have yielded no lasting solution. The city even took the church to court, but with little success.
The situation reportedly turned physical for one resident, Peele, who recalls being attacked by the congregation. Peele also attempted to open a case at the Moroka Police Station but reached a dead end.
The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) confirmed its attempts to intervene. In a statement, the JMPD reaffirmed its commitment to enforcing laws against noise pollution but clarified a key procedural hurdle. Their officers are not trained to operate the specialized sound measuring devices required for legally viable evidence in court. The department stated it must rely on the expertise of the city’s environmental health department for the necessary technical investigations in complex, ongoing cases like this one.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, Peele took the matter to Parliament in 2015. The issue was subsequently elevated to the Johannesburg Council to be addressed, but residents say no concrete resolution has been forthcoming.
According to Peele, direct consultations with the church have been unproductive. “We were arrogantly told by Mr. Mukhuba that they cannot compromise,” Peele said. “He wishes that the church must relocate to a different area.”
The Unity Fellowship Church has declined to respond to the allegations of noise pollution and the calls for it to vacate its premises.
With all other avenues seemingly exhausted, the community has now pinned its hopes on the CRL Commission to provide a permanent solution. As the audible sounds of a Sunday morning service echoed from the church, residents expressed a desperate desire for the peace and quiet they have been denied for over 16 years.
