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The National Press Club will on Friday honour KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi as its 2025 Newsmaker of the Year.
The press club said Mkhwanazi was being recognised for shifting the national conversation after his explosive media briefing in July last year, where he made allegations of corruption, political interference and institutional capture in the SAPS.
“Because of you, the state of SAPS remains firmly on the national agenda. You forced the country to confront uncomfortable truths. You held the line when it was easier to look away. To this day, your stand defines what principled leadership means in and out of uniform,” said the press club.
Club chairperson Antoinette Slabbert said the commissioner’s statements sparked widespread debate about corruption and governance.
“This award represents the dominant individual during the 2025 news cycle, and Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi’s media briefing not only set the cat among the pigeons but also brought into sharp focus the pervasive nature of corruption and its threat to our moral fibre as society, triggering debates that placed the commissioner at the centre of the narrative.”
She said the subject of Mkhwanazi’s statement trended every day to an extent that President Cyril Ramaphosa instituted a commission of inquiry and parliament established an ad hoc committee to look into the allegations.
The Newsmaker of the Year award, established in 1980, recognises those who have captured the nation’s attention and influenced conversations in South Africa. It is not about popularity but about impact: who or what set the agenda, sparked debate and defined the year in news
— National Press Club
During the July 6 2025 media briefing, Mkhwanazi implicated several senior officials, including police minister Senzo Mchunu and deputy national commissioner for crime detection Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya, both of whom have been suspended.
Mkhwanazi has repeatedly maintained that Mchunu, who was newly appointed to the portfolio at the time, had been “captured” into signing the December 2024 disbandment letter of the political killings task team.
Ramaphosa previously said he had not approved the disbandment of the task team and was dissatisfied that he had not been consulted beforehand.
In written responses submitted to parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating Mkhwanazi’s allegations, Ramaphosa said the decision had been taken by Mchunu and should have fallen under the authority of also suspended national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola.
Ramaphosa said he was informed of the disbandment on or about February 1 2025 by Masemola who indicated that Mchunu had instructed that the unit be dissolved.
The press club said the Newsmaker of the Year selection process involves nominations and motivations submitted by club members, with the final decision taken by the executive committee.
“The Newsmaker of the Year award, established in 1980, recognises those who have captured the nation’s attention and influenced conversations in South Africa. It is not about popularity but about impact: who or what set the agenda, sparked debate and defined the year in news.”
Previous recipients include the country’s first democratic president Nelson Mandela, former public protector Thuli Madonsela, Ramaphosa, power utility Eskom, the South African national rugby union team and the 2024 government of national unity.
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