Paul Verryn

Paul Verryn (born 26 February 1952) is an ordained minister of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. Known for his anti-apartheid activism, he was Bishop of the church's Central District between 1997 and 2009. During that period, he was a prominent and controversial figure for his activism against xenophobia, and clashed with the South African government over his decision to accommodate hundreds of refugees at his Central Methodist Church, Johannesburg city centre.

Early life Verryn was born on 26 February 1952 in Pretoria, in what is now the Gauteng province of South Africa, and was schooled at St Stithians College, a private Methodist school in Johannesburg. His mother was of German and Irish descent, and his father, who was a supporter of Jan Smuts and fought in World War II, was of Dutch and French descent; his parents separated while he was a child. Come of age under the apartheid state, he was drafted into compulsory military service in 1970.

Verryn later said that he was "radicalised" during his time in the Eastern Cape, He has cited among his influences other progressive South African clergymen with a concern for social justice, such as Beyers Naudé, Peter Storey and Mvume Dandala. Verryn had provided accommodation as a place of safety at the Orlando Mission house (Manse) for the four. At the time this was also his residence as the minister for the Soweto Circuit. Verryn was then also prominent as one of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's critics.

On 29 December 1988 the Mandela United Football Club (MUFC) abducted the four boys from the Mission house. The MUFC was a private force of bodyguards, who answered to and were controlled by Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, then Nelson Mandela's wife and a leading anti-apartheid activist. Following the abduction, Madikizela-Mandela alleged that Verryn had been abusing the boys sexually. Some of the boys initially supported the allegation, but later retracted their statements, saying that the MUFC members had forced them to support the claim. Madikizela-Mandela also claimed that Seipei (Moeketsi) was a police informer, a charge which in those days could have resulted in mob execution of the accused. Seipei's body was found on 6 January 1989, dumped on waste ground in Soweto. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that the purpose of the abduction had been to force the boys to accuse Verryn of sexual abuse, and, after hearing testimony from all surviving witnesses and accusers, specifically cleared Verryn of any charges of sexual abuse.

Johannesburg: 1997–2014 In 1997, Verryn was consecrated as Bishop of the MCSA's Central District, which traverses three South African provinces and accounts for almost half of MCSA's total membership. In the same year, Verryn began serving as a minister on the Johannesburg circuit; he was superintendent minister at the Central Methodist Mission, Johannesburg on Pritchard Street.

The Zimbabwean refugee crisis The Central Methodist Mission, Johannesburg, under the leadership of Bishop Paul Verryn, had established a tradition of ministering to the poor and marginalised in the city centre. When the flow of Zimbabwean refugees into South Africa had been significantly reduced, the South African government removed special controls which it had been forced to put in place. However, refugees and illegal immigrants continued to enter the country in relatively limited numbers, mostly from Zimbabwe. Many of them were destitute and jobless as well as being homeless. Over the objections of some of his church members, Verryn offered Johannesburg Central Methodist Church to this need. During 2008 and continuing into 2009 an increasing tide of resentment (labelled "xenophobia" by the media) against these foreigners peaked and broke out into anti-foreigner riots. Many Zimbabwean immigrants (whether legal or illegal), together with Mozambicans, Malawians, Taiwanese and others from any other African country became victims of the violence, losing lives, businesses, jobs and families. The need for a place of safety for Zimbabwean (and other) refugees became urgent. The Zimbabwean refugee ark of Johannesburg Central Methodist Church began to burst at the seams. During the later part of 2008 the police found it necessary to guard the refugees with shotgun armed officers.

Verryn requested the Johannesburg city authorities to provide for the refugees, but at the same time refused to allow immigration authorities to enter the sanctuary of the church to identify illegal immigrants. Early in 2009 the local municipality began to make plans to alleviate the situation at the church.

Meanwhile, inevitably, thefts, fights and assaults occurred among the refugees. Several young girls claimed that they had been raped, or sexually abused. In the latter part of 2009, once again Verryn was accused of abusing children and/or young women among the refugees. An exhaustive investigation by the media revealed no evidence whatever to substantiate the accusations against him. All of the girls who had claimed rape or sexual assault identified men other than Verryn as the guilty ones. The medical staff of Médecins sans Frontières, who by now also worked among the refugees, stated that they had treated only one girl for rape, and that this attack had not taken place at the church.

Suspension In December 2009, Verryn resigned as Bishop and was replaced by Peter Witbooi, but retained his ministry at the Central Methodist Church.''' The charges were not disclosed, but the announcement followed reports of tensions between Verryn and MCSA's Presiding Bishop Ivan Abrahams. The first charge concerned legal proceedings instituted by Verryn in December 2009 to appoint a curator ad litem to represent the interests of unaccompanied minors living at his church; Verryn had allegedly instituted these proceedings without proper authority. The second charge related to media statements which Verryn had allegedly made even after MCSA had instructed him not to.

Jabavu, Soweto: 2015–2022 Verryn gave his last Sunday church service at the Central Methodist Church on 28 December 2014, and vacated the ministry at the end of the year. whose work he had been involved in since 1987. He continued his activism through the community centre, where about 100 migrant families lived as of 2022, and through Peace Action, a non-governmental organisation which he founded in 2010 to monitor and document violence against foreign nationals in South Africa. As of 2016 he was member of the council of St Stithians College, his former high school.