South African church apologies for failure to protect against serial abuser John Smyth

The Archbishop of Cape Town has apologised for the Anglican Church of Southern Africa’s (Acsa) failure to mitigate the “serious risk” posed by the serial child sex abuser John Smyth.

In a statement, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba said: “The buck stops with me... we did not protect people from that risk.” The 2024 Makin review found Smyth’s “prolific, brutal and horrific” abuse of boys and young men continued in Africa due to the inaction of senior Church of England clergy.

The review’s findings led to the resignation of the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. Smyth lived in South Africa with his family from 2001 until his death in 2018.

While specific allegations during his time there have not been reported to Acsa, the review commissioned by Makgoba found “the risk of a repetition of abuse by Smyth in his time in South Africa… was at all times clearly high”.

The CofE’s General Synod meets next week in Westminster to debate the findings of the Makin review.