Mkhwanazi received the accolade at the National Press Club Awards held at the CSIR International Convention Center in Pretoria on Friday evening.
The award recognizes the impact of his 6 July 2025 media briefing, which ultimately led to the establishment of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into allegations of criminality, political interference and corruption within the criminal justice system.
“I owed”
Accepting the award, Mkhwanazi said he did so with humility, but also with caution.
He said, “Because the job of a police officer is not done for applause. It is not done for headlines. It is not done for awards. It is done 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, to protect the citizens of this country and to defend the rule of law without fear or favour.”
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Mkhwanazi stressed that the oath he took as a police officer would remain unchanged regardless of political pressure, public opinion or personal consequences.
He says that policing is a duty done in the service of the public rather than an identity.
“The media briefing which was held on July 6, 2025, and I must thank the media for allowing me to communicate to a citizen of this country. You have done a great job. That media briefing was not an exercise in popularity. We were not campaigning. It was not an attempt for anyone to become a public figure.
“It was an act of duty, an act informed by conscience. It is an act that we do out of love for country and primarily because of my responsibility as a Provincial Commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal and a senior manager of the South African Police Service.”
In a speech that repeatedly returned to the themes of accountability and integrity, Mkhwanazi warned that South Africa was facing a defining moment.
He said, “When institutions become more afraid of truth than crime, society enters dangerous territory. South Africa stands at just such a crossroads.”
“We cannot continue to normalize corruption. We cannot continue to protect incompetence. We cannot continue to romanticize criminality while honest citizens remain behind bars for thieves, businesses collapse due to extortion, communities are terrorized by organized crime and public trust in institutions continues to erode.”
Mkhwanazi argued that meaningful reform could not be limited to any one area.
“The spring cleaning currently facing the criminal justice system should involve all sectors of society; government departments, municipalities, law enforcement agencies, the private sector, and yes, even the media.”
Every institution must undergo 'spring cleaning'
He also challenged institutions across the country to examine whether they are serving the public interest or their own.
“Every institution in this country must ask itself: are we serving South Africa, or are we serving ourselves? Because patriotism is not found in slogans. It is found in accountability. It is found in moral leadership. It is found in courage.”
Mkhwanazi said that the future of South Africa depended on principled leadership rather than individual personalities.
“This country doesn't need heroes. It needs people of principle. People who will do their work honestly when no one is clapping for them. People who understand that integrity is not a performance, but a discipline.”
He said that accepting the award should not be interpreted as saying that the country's challenges have been resolved.
“Therefore, accepting this award does not mean that everything is fine in our country. It is because everything is not fine, so every one of us must commit ourselves to making it better.”
The provincial commissioner also called for a national reassessment that involves political leaders, law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, business, civil society and the media.
“No institution can hold itself above scrutiny while demanding accountability from others.”
Dedication to officials at the grassroots level
“Tonight, I accept this award primarily on behalf of the men and women in blue. The police officers who leave their homes every day, unsure whether they will return.”
“Detectives are working through the night to ensure convictions. Officers who are working with integrity despite threats, limited resources and constant criticism.”
He said there are many honest and committed police officers who refuse to allow the organization to be weakened by corruption or criminal infiltration.
“This recognition belongs to them. To those who continue to maintain the integrity of the organization. To those who are committed to building a secure, ethical, and capable state.”
“History will judge us on whether we defended the truth when it mattered. Whether we protected the weak when the going got tough. And whether we put the future of South Africa above personal interest. May we all find the courage to do so,” Mkhwanazi concluded.
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