Sworn affidavit & press statement — Rev. Prof. Musa Xulu

Former Chairperson, CRL Rights Commission Section 22 Committee on the Christian Sector · sworn affidavit deposed 15 May 2026 · public press statement 17 May 2026 · both published by Gateway News · concerning the alleged involvement of State-security structures in the CRL's campaign against Christian organisations and leaders

Why this document matters

This is insider testimony, under oath, from the CRL Rights Commission's own appointed chair of the Christian-sector committee. After resigning, Prof. Xulu placed on the record a sworn account that the State's drive to regulate churches is being accompanied by the involvement of its intelligence and security services.

In his sworn affidavit, Xulu records that on 14 May 2026 he received a telephone call from a person “identifying himself as Mr Vincent Mnguni Mothutkung, who stated that he was from the National Intelligence Agency and/or the State Security Agency.”
The caller, the affidavit states, “had been tasked to investigate me following a referral by the Chairperson of the CRL Rights Commission, Ms Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva,” and said that “various Christian leaders and organisations, including FOR SA, Church Defenders, and others, had allegedly been referred to State Security structures for investigation, profiling, and/or possible surveillance.”
Xulu is explicit about the limits of his own knowledge: he “cannot independently verify the identity of the caller and it remains possible that the individual may not in fact be affiliated with the National Intelligence Agency or State Security Agency.” He placed the matter on oath because, in his words, the public “has a right to know that such allegations now exist.”

In the accompanying press statement (17 May 2026), Xulu set the affidavit against the CRL process he had resigned from — noting that the National Security Strategy 2024–2028 “publicly identifies the ‘mushrooming of charismatic churches’ as a domestic national-security concern” — and warning:

“I repeatedly warned that the process was becoming toxic, predetermined and unrepresentative. I further warned that the Committee was increasingly being used as a front for a broader agenda of State involvement in the regulation and control of religion.”

“What began publicly as a debate about the CRL Rights Commission's Section 22 process … may in fact involve something far more serious: the apparent use of state-security structures against Christians and organisations opposing the CRL Chairperson's agenda.”

“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.”

Primary documents

Prof. Xulu's affidavit and press statement were published by Gateway News, a South African Christian news service. We host the sworn affidavit here with one privacy redaction (noted below), and link Gateway's copy of the press statement:

Sworn affidavit — 6 pp (PDF) Press statement, 17 May 2026 (PDF) ↗

The final page of the affidavit is an annexure — a photograph of the caller's phone screen. We have redacted that individual's mobile number and photograph, because Prof. Xulu records in the affidavit itself (para 6) that he cannot independently verify that the caller is in fact affiliated with the security services. The text of the affidavit is otherwise complete and unaltered; Gateway News hosts the unredacted original.

On the public record

Prof. Xulu's resignation and his sworn allegations about State-security involvement were published by Gateway News and reported across South African media; the CRL Rights Commission issued its own public response:

Gateway News — “State security may be investigating Christians, says former CRL committee chairperson” (20 May 2026): the publisher's report, which reproduces Xulu's press statement and the original affidavit scan in full.
The Witness — “CRL accused of using state security to pressure churches” (19 May 2026): reports Xulu's affidavit that a “Mr Vincent Mnguni,” claiming to act for the National Intelligence / State Security Agency, said the CRL Chair had referred church-side legal opinions on the Section 22 process for investigation.
CRL Rights Commission — official media statement (18 May 2026): the regulator's own response, which “categorically rejects any suggestion that it has participated in, authorised, encouraged or collaborated in the profiling, surveillance or targeting of any religious organisation.”
Mail & Guardian — “Rev Musa Xulu resigns as chair of Section 22 Committee, alleging state control of religion” (16 Jan 2026).
FOR SA op-ed — “When a Religious Community Becomes a Security Category.”

In his own words

“I can no longer serve as Chair of a Committee the processes of which I do not control, the outcomes of which I do not endorse, and the existence of which is being used as a front to disguise a predetermined agenda of State control of religion, driven in part by personal hostility toward particular Christian faith and traditions.”

— Rev. Prof. Musa Khulekani Xulu, on resigning as Chairperson of the CRL Rights Commission's Section 22 Committee on the Christian Sector — from his public resignation statement (15 January 2026; also reported by the Mail & Guardian, 16 January 2026).