in 2008, boesak publicly challenged the south african leadership to remember why the country had set out to join all races and create a non-racial south africa. in the annual ashley kriel memorial youth lecture, he suggested that the anc was well down the slippery slope of ethnic preferences and "had brought back the hated system of racial categorization." in december 2008 he left the anc to join the congress of the people party. in reaction, the anc leaked a memorandum written by boesak, detailing how he had discussed different roles he could play to help the organisation and stating that his preferred choice was the post of south african ambassador to the united nations.