Former CRL Rights Commission Section 22 committee chairperson Professor Musa Xulu released a press statement this week in which he says state-security structures may be investigating Christians and organisations “opposing the CRL chairperson’s agenda”.
Xulu, who resigned in January as chairperson of the Section 22 committee on Christian sector abuses, says in his statement that he went public after he signed an affidavit regarding a telephone conversation with a man, who identified himself as “Mr Vincent Mnguni Mothutkungwho” and said that he was “acting on behalf of the National Intelligence Agency and/or State Security Agency” at the request of CRL chairperson Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva.
“Even more disturbing were allegations made during that discussion that Christian organisations and leaders, including FOR SA, Church Defenders and others opposing the current CRL process, had allegedly also been referred to State Security structures for investigation, profiling and/or possible surveillance,” says Xulu.
He says while he cannot personally verify the caller’s identity and the broader context within which this conversation occurred cannot be ignored. “The National Security Strategy 2024-2028 publicly identifies the ‘mushrooming of charismatic churches’ as a domestic national-security concern. The same document expressly references the CRL Rights Commission’s 2017 Report on the “Commercialisation of Religion and Abuse of People’s Belief Systems”, which was compiled by Ms Mkwanazi-Xaluva during her previous term as the CRL Chair,” says Xulu. “This raises profound constitutional and moral questions,” he says.
Xulu says while the State may legitimately investigate conduct where genuine criminality exists, “the issue is whether a Chapter 9 institution established to protect religious rights has instead participated, directly or indirectly, in portraying lawful Christian organisations, leaders and movements as security concerns because they opposed a controversial State-linked regulatory agenda”.
He says such targeting of dissenting groups “would represent a grave departure from constitutional democracy”.
“Our Constitution protects religious freedom, freedom of association, human dignity and freedom of belief precisely because history teaches us how dangerous it becomes when ideological disagreement is treated as a security problem.,” he says.
He calls for “full parliamentary oversight of these developments”, clarification regarding the CRL’s engagement with state-security structures, investigation into the inclusion of “charismatic churches” in the National Security Strategy, and urgent constitutional scrutiny of the CRL’s Section 22 process.
You can view Prof Xulu’s press statement here, and his affidavit here.
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