ALERT: FOR SA's court case against COGTA Minister, being heard next week

FOR SA's court case against COGTA Minister, being heard next week

FOR SA's court case challenging the Government’s complete ban on religious gatherings earlier this year, is being heard in (a virtual hearing before) the Johannesburg High Court fromMonday, 22 November to Wednesday, 24 November 2021.Even though the ban no longer applies, it remains vitally important that the matter be heard with a view to setting legal precedent regarding the reasons for which, and the extent to which, Government can limit our constitutional right to religious freedom – including our right to gather in person to collectively exercise our faith.Watch this video to learn more about this case,and how you can support it.[embed]https://youtu.be/8iwOJJKlfgs[/embed]Will you stand with us to protect faith and freedom?The reality is that litigation costs significant amounts of money. We are therefore very thankful thatFOR SAhas been able to work together with an excellent and diverse team of Advocates and attorneys in developing and presenting this critically important case. Without the help and high-level expertise of these men and women, who have already volunteered enormous amounts of time to this case, we would not have been in a position to file this case or to fight this battle. Although all the Advocates and attorneys in the legal team are involved because of their personal conviction to protect and promote religious freedom, they have – since January 2021, when the case was first instituted - dedicated an enormous amount of hours to this matter (at the expense of other paying work). If “normal fees” had to be charged, the cost would be a few million Rand. This does not take into account the additional, substantial and unavoidable hard costs and disbursements in the form of photocopies, printing costs, telephone calls, petrol, etc.In the circumstances, we are appealing to ask you if you will make a difference by contributing financially to help cover some of the costs of this case? The reality is thatFOR SA(as a non-profit organisation that is entirely reliant on voluntary contributions for our continued existence), is not able to fund litigation out of our own pocket. Every donation that is given toFOR SAis 100% necessary to pay for our operational costs on a monthly basis, which enables us to fulfil our vital work of protecting religious freedom before Government, Parliament and (as in this instance) the Courts. To make a donation towards this specific case into our attorney's trust account, please use the following details:Account name: Bliden Campbell IncorporatedBank: ABSAAccount#: 4069675230Branch code: 630509Ref: FOR SA v COGTA MinisterAs always, thank you for your support, without which we would not be able to fulfil the mandate that we believe we have been given. We trust that this e-mail has been helpful to you. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.Warm regards,Michael SwainExecutive Director, FOR SA*To be compliant with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA),FOR SA has recently updated our Privacy Policy. POPIA pertains to the protection of your personal information, and indicates how this information may be collected, used and shared.FOR SA is only permitted to collect and use your information for a specific purpose, if obtained from you, for the reason of communicating with you regarding alerts about religious freedom issues and FOR SA newsletters which you signed up for. The details surrounding these particulars are outlined further in our Privacy Policy, published on our website.No action is needed, except if you wish to opt out from further communication, or be removed from our database, then please contact us in writing at privacy@forsa.org.za (for the attention of the Information Officer),  and we will attend to your query.