Struggle stalwart Rev Allan Boesak was the guest speaker at the Good Friday service in Durban hosted by the Diakonia Council of Churches
Image: Leon Lestrade / Independent Newspapers
Struggle stalwart Allan Boesak has issued a stark warning about the dangers facing whistle-blowers, using the platform of a Good Friday gathering in Durban to call for the protection of KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Diakonia Council of Churches Good Friday prayer service, Boesak said Mkhwanazi’s actions in confronting alleged wrongdoing had placed his life at risk. He described the provincial police chief—whose contract was recently renewed—as “a man of courage” and warned that such bravery has historically come at a deadly cost for whistle-blowers in South Africa.
The annual commemoration of Good Friday began in the early hours at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, where Boesak delivered the keynote address after leading the opening prayer. The observance continued with a symbolic procession carrying a cross through the city to Durban City Hall, where the main service was held.
The event drew prominent political figures, including KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli, Deputy Transport Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa, and eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba.
Boesak linked Mkhwanazi’s personal risk to a pivotal moment on July 6, 2025, when the commissioner publicly exposed alleged interference in efforts to disband the Political Killings Task Team. That intervention triggered the establishment of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry and a parliamentary ad hoc committee to probe the matter.
Framing his message within the solemnity of Good Friday, Boesak said the commissioner’s actions reflected a willingness to make profound sacrifices in pursuit of truth—sacrifices that, he cautioned, could ultimately prove fatal without adequate protection.
“People are already praying for him (Mkhwanazi), and we have been praying for him from 6 July last year. In this country, people like him, who are brave, are not just being sidelined or kicked out of jobs, but they are sometimes killed.
“So we pray for his continued courage, and we pray for steadfastness in the light of a situation that might still develop,” said Boesak.
He said the commissioners of the Madlanga Commission, Chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, Advocate Sesi Baloyi SC, and Advocate Sandile Khumalo SC, also needed prayers as their work was important.
He described corruption in the country as shocking, and that what had already been revealed at the commission was just the tip of an iceberg, as he was expecting much more to be laid bare.
“This means that people must acknowledge that there is a crisis that we can no longer deny or ignore.
“It is our responsibility to do something about it as this becomes clear every single day,” he said.
Boesak, a former ANC and United Democratic Front activist was withdrawn from being a nominee for an ambassador to the United Nations due to allegations of misappropriation of funds donated to his Foundation for Peace and Justice charity in 1994.
This was followed by his 1999 conviction and sentence, for which he received a presidential pardon from former President Thabo Mbeki in 2005.
He said he was praying that the law would take its course against those implicated at the Madlanga Commission.
“But I do not know how this would happen because the difficulty in our country is that none of the commissions we had, and they had been many, had actually resulted in the kind of action that is necessary to correct the wrongs, as nobody has been thrown in prison.
“Now this time, especially with the amazing work that the Madlanga Commission is doing and the sacrifice that General Mkhwanazi is making to let our people know what the situation really is, I hope that when the recommendations reach the desk of the president, the right decisions will be made,” he said.
He said the work of the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture was undermined by the government’s failure to bring to book people who were implicated.
“People who were mentioned in the Zondo Commission are still where they were, and none of them have been touched.
“I am hoping that the Madlanga Commission will bear more fruit and that the president will have the courage to act upon its recommendations.”
He also shared his views on the deployment of the army to help police in the fight against crime in the Western Cape, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Free State, and the North West.
He said that despite President Cyril Ramaphosa having deployed the army in response to pressure from residents who were tired of living with dangerous criminals, he did not believe that the army was the instrument to fight crime.
“The army is made to fight enemies of the country, and if we deploy the army to fight crime that our own people are committing, are we saying that we are now turning them (people) into enemies?
“The army is not trained like the police to deal with all sorts of issues, and the main thing is that we can deploy 50,000 soldiers, but unless you address the socioeconomic issues that drive so many of our people to crime, you will not solve the issue.
"Unless we address the spiritual issues that drive people to crime and see what we can do to change the way of life and the way of thinking,” he said.
Addressing followers of various churches outside the City Hall, Ntuli called for the Easter weekend to be used as a start to address poverty and inequality.
“It calls for us to extend a hand to those who are suffering, as we witness poverty, inequality, and the effects of injustice.
“Let us strive to be the inspirers of new hope by working towards a society that reflects the divine love we celebrate today,” said Ntuli.