Dr Allan Boesak calls out Ramaphosa over Madlanga report, SAPS

Renowned politician and anti-apartheid activist, Reverend Dr Allan Boesak, has called for President Cyril Ramaphosa to take decisive action by firing officials implicated in the ongoing investigations of Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee and the Madlanga Commission.

In a recent interview with Newzroom Afrika, Boesak not only urged the president to dismiss these officials but also suggested that Ramaphosa should consider resigning himself.

Boesak said Ramaphosa should fire officials who have been implicated in criminal activities brought to light at the commission, chaired by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.

The commission identified prima facie evidence of criminal conduct and corruption, prompting immediate referrals for criminal investigation, urgent prosecutorial decisions, and disciplinary action.

Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee have been investigating allegations of police corruption and political interference ventilated by KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Police Commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

Boesak criticised how the president has kept the interim Madlanga report private, and only relayed certain bits of information through his own perspective, instead of making it public.

He said that he would tell Ramaphosa how “everybody who has been involved in criminal action that's in your purview, that's from the president's office, right down, fire them”.

“I would even say to the president, ‘You have failed us at so many levels and in such a deep, deep, deep way in terms of what your office expects of you, and what your people expect and demand of you, that you should begin by resigning yourself.

“Let us start from over,” Boesak said. “This government that we have, immoral as it is, by elevating people who celebrate, and profit, and benefit from genocide…I mean, that just in itself is so immoral, I can't even find the word to speak about it.”

Boesak has said that South Africans should “stop what is happening right now, (and) start from the very beginning”.

Political analyst at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Zakhele Ndlovu, said Boesak has a point, and how, at this stage, Ramaphosa has lost all credibility.

“His reluctance to be transparent regarding the interim report of the Madlanga commission suggests that he's got something to hide and is protecting certain individuals. His administration presided over the looting of the Covid-19 funds. His administration also allowed rioters in 2021 to run amok,” Ndlovu said.

“Ramaphosa needs to be transparent and come clean. He needs to stop protecting wrongdoers such as Senzo Mchunu and Shadrack Sibiya,” Ndlovu said.

Another political analyst, Nkosikhulule Nyembezi, said many South Africans are crying betrayal over the ANC’s reluctance to implement bold measures to fight corruption and maladministration.

“Many Struggle veterans are not adding their voices to that charge in public, but they privately agree. There is astonishment that President Ramaphosa and many in the ANC leadership blithely conceded to several administrative hurdles by subverting good governance and ethical leadership, instead of removing from government positions individuals implicated in corruption and maladministration,” Nyembezi said.

He added that the biggest surprise is that there are still people who claim to be surprised when Struggle veterans like Boesak speak out.

“If you are genuinely shocked by these developments and Allan Boesak’s comments, I can only assume you have not been paying much attention,” Nyembezi said.

The presidency has been contacted for comment in response to Boesak’s comment, but has yet to respond.

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