Kwazulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi says South Africa cannot continue to normalise corruption, protect incompetence or romanticise criminality, warning that the country is at a crossroads where institutions risk fearing the truth more than criminality.
Speaking at the National Press Club on Friday in Pretoria after being named Newsmaker of the Year 2025, Mkhwanazi said the recognition should not be mistaken for a popularity exercise, insisting that his actions had been guided by duty and his oath as a police officer.
Accepting the award, Mkhwanazi said police work was not performed for applause, headlines or awards, but for the people of South Africa.
“As a disciplined member of the South African Police Service, I took an oath many years ago; an oath to uphold the Constitution, protect the citizens of this country and defend the rule of law without fear or favour,” he said.
“That oath does not change depending on political convenience, media pressure, public opinion or personal consequence.”
Mkhwanazi said the media briefing he held on July 6, 2025, was not intended to advance his public profile.
“The media briefing of 6 July 2025 was not an exercise in popularity. It was not a campaign. It was not an attempt to become a public figure. It was an act of duty. An act informed by conscience. An act informed by the love of this country. And an act informed by the responsibility I carry as the Provincial Commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal,” he said.
He warned that South Africa was approaching a dangerous point where institutions could become more fearful of the truth than of criminality.
“When institutions begin to fear the truth more than they fear criminality, society enters dangerous territory. South Africa is standing at such a crossroads,” he said.
Mkhwanazi argued that corruption, poor governance and organised crime continued to undermine communities, businesses and confidence in public institutions.
“We cannot continue to normalise corruption. We cannot continue to protect incompetence. We cannot continue to romanticise criminality while honest citizens live behind burglar bars, businesses collapse under extortion, communities are terrorised by organised crime and public trust in institutions continues to erode,” he said.
He added that the country could not build a capable state while institutions remained compromised.
“The truth is painful. A capable state cannot coexist with compromised institutions.”
Mkhwanazi said South Africa’s process of renewal could not be selective and warned against efforts that targeted some sectors while leaving others untouched.
“The spring cleaning currently confronting the criminal justice system must cut across all sectors of society; government departments, municipalities, law enforcement agencies, the private sector and yes, even the media itself,” he said.
He said every institution should examine whether it was acting in the interests of the country or in its own interests.
“Are we serving South Africa, or are we serving ourselves?”
According to Mkhwanazi, patriotism was demonstrated through accountability, ethical leadership and courage rather than slogans.
“Patriotism is not found in slogans. It is found in accountability. It is found in ethical leadership. It is found in courage. And it is found in the willingness to place country before comfort,” he said.
He stressed that while people may disagree with one another, all South Africans shared a responsibility to serve the country’s interests.
“We do not all have to agree. We do not all have to be friends. But we all have a responsibility to serve the interests of South Africa,” he said.
Mkhwanazi also rejected the notion that the country required heroes.
“This country does not need heroes. It needs principled people. People who will do their jobs honestly when nobody is clapping for them. People who understand that integrity is not a performance, but it is discipline,” he said.
He said accepting the award did not suggest that conditions in South Africa had improved sufficiently.
“Accepting this award therefore does not suggest that all is well in our country. It is precisely because all is not well that every one of us must recommit ourselves to making it well,” he said.
Mkhwanazi said any meaningful national reset would require accountability from every sector of society, including political leadership, law enforcement, the judiciary, business, civil society and the media.
“If South Africa is serious about a national reset, then that reset must include all of us; political leadership, law enforcement, the judiciary, business, civil society and the media.
”No institution can place itself above scrutiny while demanding accountability from others,” he said.
The provincial commissioner dedicated the award to members of the South African Police Service, praising officers who continued to serve despite difficult conditions.
He paid tribute to police officers who left their homes each day uncertain whether they would return, detectives who worked through the night to secure convictions, and officers who continued to serve with integrity despite intimidation, limited resources and criticism.
“The police officers who leave their homes every day uncertain if they will return, the detectives working through the night to secure convictions, and the officers who continue to serve with integrity despite intimidation, limited resources and relentless criticism.”
“There are many honest and committed police officers in this country. Men and women who refuse to surrender this organisation to corruption, criminal infiltration or institutional decay,” he said.
“This recognition belongs to them.”
Mkhwanazi said the award also belonged to officers committed to building a safe, ethical and capable state and to those who viewed service to the public as a sacred responsibility rather than a slogan.
“History will not judge us by the titles we held, the awards we collected or the speeches we delivered.
”History will judge us by whether we defended the truth when it mattered. Whether we protected the weak when it was difficult. And whether we placed the future of South Africa above personal interest,” he said.
IOL News
Get your news on the go. Download the latest IOL App for Android and IOS now
