Mkhwanazi says SA at corruption crossroads, while accepting Newsmaker of the Year award

Staff Reporter

KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi warned that South Africa was at a “crossroads” over corruption and compromised institutions, using his acceptance of the National Press Club’s 2025 Newsmaker of the Year award to defend his July 2025 media briefing that triggered the Madlanga Commission.

Speaking at the press club’s gala dinner at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria on Friday night, Mkhwanazi said his 6 July 2025 briefing was not an attempt to court popularity, but an act of duty.

“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,” he said.

His remarks came on the same day the Madlanga Commission submitted its second interim report to President Cyril Ramaphosa, marking a new stage in the inquiry into allegations of criminality,