Parliamentary committee considers WC religious leaders’ request for investigation of CRL chair

The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Parliamentary Portfolio Committee met virtually yesterday to consider a request by a group of Western Cape religious leaders for the committee to open a formal misconduct meeting against CRL Rights Commission chair Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva.

In a letter sent to the COGTA committee on Tuesday, the WC leaders request that if, on investigation, the chair is found to be in contravention of the requirements of the CRL Act, a recommendation should be made to the President for her removal in terms of S17 of the CRL Act and S194(2)b of the Constitution.

The leaders, representing Christian churches, religious formations, traditional leadership bodies, advocacy groups and community structures in the Western Cape, requested the committee to review a set of video statements by the CRL chair. They also attached their letter to the Deputy Minister of COGTA, dated December 31 2025 with concerns regards proposals to regulate religion and their letter to the Speaker of the National Assembly, dated February 11 2026, with examples of quotations by the CRL chair, allegations by the former chair of the CRL S22 Committee and legal references that they argue warrant such an enquiry.

One of the signatories of Tuesday’s letter to the COGTA committee, Philip Rosenthal of ChristianView Network, told Gateway News that during yesterday’s committee meeting, a proposal was made to pursue a mediation process to try and stabilise the religious sector. Rosenthal said he expected mediation would be a waste of time. He said the committee also discussed the possibility of appointing a retired judge and a panel to investigate the allegations, but noted that would cost money, so they needed to ensure there is warrant.

Here is a link to the COGTA Portfolio Committee’s virtual deliberations yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/live/UjWNue2cWPU