 Nkoli spoke at rallies in support of rent-boycotts in the Vaal townships and in 1984 he was arrested and faced the death penalty for treason with twenty-one other political leaders in the Delmas Treason Trial, including Popo Molefe and Patrick Lekota, collectively known as the Delmas 22.By coming out while a prisoner, he helped change the attitude of the African National Congress to gay rights.He was acquitted and released from prison in 1988.