01/05/2026
WINNERS OF THE ANDREW MURRAY-DESMOND TUTU PRIZE FUND
The Andrew Murray-Desmond Tutu Prize Fund is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 prizes and awards. They are:
PRIZES
1. ANDREW MURRAY PRIZE FOR CHRISTIAN PUBLICATIONS IN AFRIKAANS
Tom Smith’s book, Vind God in die gewone (2024, published by Lux Verbi), is the winner of the 2026 Andrew Murray Prize. Commentators appreciate Smith’s thought-provoking writing and the practical commitment he employs to support Christian believers to follow Christ. One commentator describes the book as being lived through before it was written. The adjudicators commend Smith’s work as rich and practical combined with Biblical and other applicable references to God within the context of the “ordinary life” of sleep, waking up, washing and cleaning, meals and dining-table, searches, travel, work, play and laughter, pain and tears, healing and rest, life and death: God in our “normal activities” of daily life! As a pastor and church leader in Johannesburg, Smith shows how we can be more aware of God’s presence in our life. He convinces his readers that our relationship with God calls us to be aware of God’s presence in everything in life and to embrace the mystery of it. The adjudicators emphasise the balance in the book between lived spirituality and grounded theological argument.
The adjudicators were Dr Guillaume Smit, Prof Kobus Schoeman and Prof Christo Lombard. The Andrew Murray Prize consists of R25 000 and is partially sponsored by Dagbreektrust.
2. ANDREW MURRAY-DESMOND TUTU PRIZE FOR THEOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS IN AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF SOUTH AFRICA, OTHER THAN AFRIKAANS
Jacques Beukes, Hassan Musa, Fay van Eeden and Mias van Jaarsveld are the editors of the winning book for the 2026 Andrew Murray-Desmond Tutu Prize: Care for Africa. Witnesses of Earthkeeping and Ecological Justice (2025, published by Christian Literature Fund). According to the adjudicators, this edited volume places Christian theology in conversation with ecological crisis, asking what faithful earthkeeping and ecological justice demand for African contexts. They find the main strength of this volume in its refusal to treat ecology as an optional add-on to doctrine or ethics. Instead, it treats ecological breakdown as a theological and moral crisis that implicates biblical interpretation, public imagination and the credibility of Christian witness on the African continent. Throughout, there is a sustained focus on earthkeeping and ecological justice, which keeps it coherently theological.
The adjudicators were Prof. Demaine Solomons, Dr Sandiswa Lerato Kobe and Dr James Goddard. The Andrew Murray-Desmond Tutu Prize consists of R25 000.
3. DESMOND TUTU-GERRIT BRAND PRIZE FOR EMERGING WRITERS (DEBUT WORK)
Mark James is the author of the winning book for the 2026 Desmond Tutu-Gerrit Brand Prize: Proud to be Deaf: Ministry, Saintliness and the history of the Catholic Deaf Community in South Africa, 1874 – 1994. The adjudicators value this publication as an exceptional contribution to general Christian and theological literature. The work combines thorough research, theological insight and contextual relevance, which is both academically sound and pastorally sensitive. This book presents an original perspective on Deaf identity within the contexts of the church and faith communities. The author thoroughly employed archival material, historical sources and research literature within the South African context for his work. This volume presents both a relevant and inclusive theological as well as pastoral perspective. This publication maintains a balance between academic quality and accessibility for public interest.
The adjudicators were Prof. Juanita Meyer, Prof. Eugene Baron and Prof. Douglas Lawrie. The Desmond Tutu-Gerrit Brand Prize consists of R15 000.
AWARDS
1. JAAP DURAND-DENISE ACKERMANN AWARD FOR UNITY, JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION
Dr Wayne Alexander, Western Cape Regional Land Claims Commissioner, is the recipient of this award for 2026, sponsored by Remgro Management Services Ltd. According to the adjudicators, Dr Alexander embodies the spirit of the Belhar Confession through his commitment to unity, reconciliation, and justice at grassroots level. His leadership in land restitution represents one of the clearest contemporary expressions of the values embodied by Jaap Durand and Denise Ackermann: courageous justice, compassionate reconciliation, and a commitment to unity grounded in truth. His work has had a profound and lasting impact on communities across the Western Cape and beyond, as he had to grapple with the messiness of post-apartheid redress, making him a deserving candidate for the 2026 Jaap Durand–Denise Ackermann Award for Unity, Justice and Reconciliation.
Dr Alexander was nominated by Laurie Gaum and recommended by the Executive Board of AMDTPF. The award consists of R10 000.
2. CLF-ELISE TEMPELHOFF AWARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION AND JUSTICE
Dr Attie van Niekerk, founder of the Nova Institute (www.nova.org.za), is the recipient of this award for 2026, sponsored by Christian Literature Fund (CLF). It is presented this year to an individual or organisation that, through sustained and long-term public action, organised projects or academic activities, based on general Christian (Biblical) values, makes a significant impact on the promotion of environmental conservation and justice. The adjudicators unanimously voted to present this award to Dr Van Niekerk as founder of the Nova Institute in 1994, a non-profit organisation committed to enabling poverty-stricken communities to improve their quality of life. Nova works with households and network partners in low-income communities across South Africa to develop practical, sustainable solutions to everyday challenges affecting human well-being and the environment.
Dr Van Niekerk was nominated by Prof. Ignatius Swart and recommended by an impartial panel of adjudicators. The award consists of R10 000.
3. ANDREW MURRAY-SAKOV AWARD: CHURCH MUSIC
The award for this year (2026) is the first recognition by the South African Church and Organist Association (SAKOV) in its commitment to promote church music. This first-time award goes to Prof Theo van Wyk for his work: The Lockdown-Büchlein: Eighteen Chorale-based Works for the Organ. Prof Theo van Wyk published this work in 2024. It represents a unique and meaningful contribution to South African church music. The collection of eighteen chorale-based works for the organ takes Bach’s Eighteen Great Chorale Preludes as point of departure and originated from the unique context of the COVID-19-lockdown period – a time of isolation, uncertainty and search for meaning and consolation. The chorale works included in the collection vary from German chorales like the beloved Wunderbarer König and Nun danket alle Gott to contemporary songs such as, As the deer pants for the water, as well as typical songs from the New Apostolic Church tradition for example, Not human advice. Prof Theo van Wyk is a long-time prominent figure in the South African organ community, both for his academic achievements as well as for his generosity as a mentor. This collection serves as a permanent witness to his artistry as well as his deep sense of calling.
The adjudicators were Dr Isabelle van Rensburg, Rineke Viljoen, Anneli Roux, Johann Enslin, Wybrand van der Westhuizen. Die Andrew Murray-SAKOV Award: Church Music, is sponsored by SAKOV and consists of R10 000.
4. REVEREND ANDRIES DREYER AWARD: CHURCH HISTORY RESEARCH
The award for this year (2026) is the first recognition by the Archive of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa in its commitment to stimulate research in church history in Southern Africa. The intention of the award is to give recognition to an individual or institution that strives to make the Southern African church history accessible for public interest, based on primary or archival sources through publications, media or other projects. Dr Gerdrie van der Merwe is the first recipient of the Reverend Andries Dreyer Award: Church History Research 2026, for his work as church historian. He published more than fifty memorial volumes for congregations and other thematic articles. Since the 1970s, he has also been responsible for the In Memorium columns of both the Yearbook of the Dutch Reformed Church (NG) and Die Kerkbode. Dr Van der Merwe, over many years, built an extraordinary book collection on the history of the Dutch Reformed Church and the Afrikaner people, as well as a unique private collection of Africana and church artifacts.
The adjudicators were the Synodical Task Team: Archive, of the Dutch Reformed Church (NG) in South Africa. The Reverend Andries Dreyer Award: Church History Research, is sponsored by the Dutch Reformed Church (NG) in SA and consists of R10 000.
EDDIE ORSMOND
Acting Chairperson: Andrew Murray-Desmond Tutu Prize Fund
