The South African National Christian Forum (SANCF) has asked the Constitutional Court to declare that the reappointment of Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva as chairperson of the CRL Rights Committee “is unlawful, unconstitutional, and invalid”.
Bishop Marothi Mshashane chairperson of the SANCF told Gateway News that they filed an urgent application to the ConCourt today and are awaiting “the urgent court date where we will debate the matter in front of the full bench of the Constitutional Court”.
In his founding affidavit, Mshashane, says that President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is listed as first respondent in the SANCF application, acted unconstitutionally by reappointing Mkhwanazi-Xaluva as chairperson of the CRL after the expiry of her initial term and a prolonged intervening period during which another individual served in that capacity. He argues that the CRL Act excludes the possibility of a return to office after an intervening break.
Mshashane says Mkhwanazi-Xaluva served a full 5-year term as CRL chair ending in 2019. Thereafter she was succeeded by Professor Luka Mosoma, who served a full term until 2014. “This period was marked by the absence of the contentious proposals that had defined Ms Mkhwanazi-Xaluva’s prior tenure,” says the affidavit.
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The affidavit continues: “The matter is urgent because the Chairperson is currently engaged in unlawful conduct under the guise of lawful authority. Her public engagements have resumed, and she has begun implementing initiatives that were previously halted by Parliament.
“There is no internal mechanism within the CRL Act for reviewing or suspending the Chairperson’s activities. Unless this Court intervenes, the institution may be irreparably compromised.
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“Churches and their leaders are already being targeted, summoned, and categorized under frameworks that have no legal basis. These actions undermine confidence in constitutional protections and sow division.
“The harm is cumulative and systemic. The continued presence of an unlawfully appointed Chairperson actively undermining constitutional rights constitutes an existential threat to independent religious practice.”
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