Anti-Apartheid Minister Quits Over Reported Affair

Leading anti-apartheid activist the Rev. Allan Boesak resigned his church positions after South African newspapers alleged he was having an affair with a television producer, his daughter Pulane said today.

A weeping Boesak told his congregation in Cape Town on Sunday that he had done nothing wrong, but was resigning as their minister.

He apologized repeatedly to the shocked congregation and said he deeply regretted his actions.

“This is one of the darkest days of my life,” he told the congregation of the Ned Geref Sendingkerk church in Cape Town’s Bellville South area, where he has served for 21 years.

“I am deeply sorry for all the pain I have caused,” he said.

Boesak, a leader of South Africa’s mixed-race community, has become one of the most prominent anti-apartheid leaders in recent years. He helped lead campaigns against white-minority rule and toured the world to denounce apartheid.

Boesak resigned after South African newspapers reported that he was romantically involved with white television producer Elna Botha, who works for the state-run South African Broadcasting Corp.

The newspapers reported that the couple had spent four days together at a Cape Town hotel.

Business Day newspaper reported today that Botha’s husband, TV anchor Colin Fluxman, said the couple were divorcing.

Church officials said Boesak had not decided if he and his wife, Dorothy, would divorce, news reports said. But Dorothy Boesak told one newspaper that “our marriage is over.”

Boesak was temporarily suspended from his church posts in 1985 after allegations that he was having an affair with a church worker. He was later reinstated.

Business Day also reported that Boesak was likely to devote himself to a political career. He has strong ties to the African National Congress and other anti-apartheid groups.

Boesak is long thought to have had political ambitions that go beyond his role in the anti-apartheid movement.

He modeled himself on American civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Boesak developed a vivid speaking style and often took his place at the head of nonviolent marches and demonstrations.