Pardon a surprise - Boesak

2005-01-16 15:28

Cape Town - The veteran anti-apartheid leader Alan Boesak said on Sunday the first he had heard about a presidential pardon expunging his criminal record was from the media.

"It came as somewhat of a surprise," he said.

Boesak said he only received confirmation of the pardon from presidential spokesperson Bheki Khumalo on Saturday.

Asked about his plans for the future, Boesak said he had thought "very long and very hard" about his options, even considering leaving the country to teach overseas.

However, he and his family decided on stay in South Africa, saying: "This is where our future lies and the future of our children."

Remain in the ministry

Boesak said he would remain in the church and in the ministry, where he felt he would able to make a contribution to the country and society.

Asked about the perceived watchdog role theologians and religious leaders such as Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane were playing and government's response to criticisms, Boesak said if the government did wrong, he would criticise them.

Equally, if they did right, he would support them.

"What we are saying is that we must make sure that what we struggle for... becomes a reality."

Boesak said criticism of the government should not be seen as a sign of "distance or enmity" but rather as a sign of a "common commitment to the same goal".

Boesak said in the near future he would be serving in a part-time pastoral capacity at a Piketberg congregation.

Boesak was convicted in 1999 for fraud and theft of donor money and served two years of his six year prison term.

- SAPA