090216. Advocate Jeremy Gauntlett SC in the Constitutional Court during a hearing over the Nkandla debacle. Picture: Dumisani Sibeko
THE Anglican church has defended itself against allegations that it ignored sexual abuse allegations against one of the members it appointed to examine the activities of serial abuser John Smyth in South Africa.
Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, on Saturday confirmed that he had “accepted an offer” from Advocate Jeremy Gauntlett SC KC to step down from the inquiry panel he set up to examine Smyth’s activities. Smyth is accused of having committed sexual abuse against at least 85 boy victims in various countries, and had lived in Cape Town until his death in 2018.
Information received by the Anglican church in South Africa, from the Church of England, showed that during his time in South Africa, Smyth attended St Paul's Church, Durban, St Martin in the Fields Church, Durban, St Martin's Church, Bergvliet, Cape Town, and two independent churches, His People Church, Glenwood, Durban, and Church on Main, Cape Town.
Late last year the church appointed a three-person panel to review the Anglican Church of Southern Africa's handling of reports of abuse committed by Smyth in South Africa.
The panel also included South African civil society leader, Dr Mamphela Ramphele, South African and retired judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal, Ian Farlam. It is to conduct the review and make recommendations to the Archbishop.
However, things took a turn this weekend, when Hylton White came forward to publicly bring sexual allegations against Gauntlett, saying that he had “no credibility” to be on the panel.
“Gauntlett has a very particular role in my life. In my early teens I went up the Hogsback peak with him. We talked a lot up the path and it became clear that he was an ally for my early refusal of apartheid indoctrination, a view my own family found contemptible. He told me about his defence of liberation fighters in court. I felt heard for the first time in my life. At a pool halfway up the mountain he undressed me and gripped me between his own naked legs in the water. What he did behind me I can’t say.
“Then he sent me books of poetry in the post. In then-Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) during the 80s I cannot quite say what an invitation to the wider world this was. When he came for a case in the city he took me to lunch then to his hotel room, where he had me undress so he could bathe me then have sex with me.
“Later I got to UCT and I still desired this connection. I went to see him defend MK people in court. I asked him for a reference when I lost my ID. I went to show him a hippy shirt I’d bought at the market. I met his wife Tessa, swam naked with him in his pool at his Constantia home, was groped by him while his wife was a room away, then finally threw him out of my residence room at campus when he dropped me off one day.”
He said he had informed the Anglican Church in South Africa of the allegations against Gauntlett to no avail.
“I have used certain private channels to alert the Anglican Church in South Africa to the fact that Jeremy Gauntlett is not of fit character to assess this matter. These have been ignored.
“I want to make it perfectly clear to the public that the findings of any panel on child sex abuse allegations that involve the influence of Jeremy Gauntlett has no credibility whatsoever. A powerfully professional man who manipulates a teenager into sexual activity based on the need for affirmation is not qualified to sit in judgment on the matter of the church’s handling of Smyth’s abuses,” said White.
In light of the allegations now being public, Makgoba said Gauntlett had on Friday proposed that he step down from the panel.
“On the evening of January 16 I received a letter concerning a quite separate allegation of abuse, in which the complainant said that if Advocate Gauntlett did not step down from the panel by January 31, he (the complainant) would make the allegation public. Without further communication, the complainant later that evening published details of his allegations on social media. No complaint is known to have been made to Safe Church (ACSA’s specialist safeguarding body) or to the church itself on the matter over the past 40 years.
“On the morning of January 17, Advocate Gauntlett proposed that in the circumstances created by the letter he step down from the panel, conveying a concern that the work of the Smyth inquiry not be in any way delayed or obstructed by the issue. I accepted his offer, subject to consultation with other members of the panel. As someone whose handling of the Smyth matter is being investigated by the panel, I have kept a distance from its work but felt that in the circumstances I needed to take this step.
“I held those consultations at Bishopscourt in Cape Town, and have accepted Advocate Gauntlett's offer on the well-recognised principle in the law that even the appearance of a conflict of interest can be enough to trigger a recusal from a matter. Justice Farlam and Dr Ramphele have accepted Advocate Gauntlett's decision with regret, and have agreed that they will continue the Panel’s inquiry to completion. It is expected that this will be accomplished shortly.”
Probed on what process the church took to appoint the panel and whether allegations by Gauntlett’s alleged victim were ignored, the church said: “For the archbishop to engage through the media with a person reporting abuse would contravene the church's guidelines on responding to them.”
Gauntlett did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.
Anti-gender based violence activist Reverend Jun-Dolley Major said: “The silence surrounding abuse in the Anglican Church, like in so many other institutions, is not just complicity; it’s a calculated act of self-preservation at the cost of justice and truth.
“The fact that this has come to light is significant, and his stepping down is a necessary step toward accountability. But it cannot end here. The silence must be shattered, and those who have perpetuated or enabled abuse must be brought to light. This is not just about one person but about dismantling a culture of secrecy and protecting those who have been harmed,” she said.
Cape Times
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