Former AGU boss Andre Lincoln died of a broken heart, disappointed in the country he once fought to liberate

CAPE TOWN Former anti-Apartheid activist and politician, Dr Allan Boesak says major general André Lincoln "died of a broken heart" after years of turmoil in the police service he dedicated his life to.

Speaking at Lincoln’s funeral at St James Church in Cape Town on Saturday, Boesak described the former anti-gang unit head as a man of principle, who stood firm even when the system turned against him.

ALSO READ:

Anti-apartheid activist Allan Boesak urges mourners to continue the work former Madiba bodyguard, top cop Andre Lincoln started
'Not a talker, but a doer' - WC top cop Patekile reflects on the life of late former AGU boss Andre Lincoln

The former top cop served in the SA Police Service (SAPS) for 39 years and led the Western Cape’s anti-gang unit until his retirement.

Lincoln retired in 2021 due to health complications that eventually led to the amputation of both legs.

Boesak says Lincoln’s final years were shaped by deep disappointment in the country he once fought to liberate:

"So Andre died of a broken heart, because he died in a country he did not fight for, he did not fight for the imposition of a new kind of Apartheid. He did not fight for the permanentization of the impoverishment of our people, he did not fight for the corruption that faces us, he did not fight for that but he died in that."

Boesak says Lincoln remained morally resolute, even when his values no long fit the system.

"I watched as a system that he tried to build and renew tried to turn him into a criminal because he no longer fit the mould that they wanted him to. He still stood for those same values. He still stood for those same principles, but those are the principles that get you into trouble now."