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Gayton McKenzie

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Gayton McKenzie
Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 July 2024
PresidentCyril Ramaphosa
Preceded byZizi Kodwa
Member of the National Assembly of South Africa
Incumbent
Assumed office
14 June 2024
Executive Mayor of the Central Karoo District Municipality
In office
11 April 2022 – 2 May 2023
DeputyGideon Petersen
Preceded byJohanna Botha
Member of the Laingsburg Municipal Council
In office
7 April 2022 – 14 June 2024
Preceded byMitchell Smith
President of the Patriotic Alliance
Founder of the Patriotic Alliance
Incumbent
Assumed office
15 November 2013
DeputyKenny Kunene
Preceded byParty founded
Personal details
Born
Gayton McKenzie

(1974-03-10) 10 March 1974 (age 50)[1]
Heidedal, Orange Free State, South Africa
Political partyPatriotic Alliance (2013–present)
Other political
affiliations		African National Congress (before 2013)
Spouse
Nicolette Joubert
​
(m. 2003)​
(divorced)
Children8
Occupation
  • Businessman
  • politician
  • motivational speaker
  • author

Gayton McKenzie (born 10 March 1974) is a South African politician, businessman and ex-convict who is currently serving as Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture in the Government of National Unity (GNU) since July 2024.

After spending eight years in jail from age 21 for armed robbery, McKenzie came to prominence in the early 2000s for his role in a prison exposé that eventually led to his early release amid an investigation of prison corruption by the Jali Commission of Inquiry.[2] After his release from jail, he became a businessman, motivational speaker and author. From 2022 to 2023, he served as the Executive Mayor of the Central Karoo District Municipality.[3][4][5] In 2013, McKenzie co-founded the Patriotic Alliance political party and has since served as its president.[6]

Business activities

[edit]

McKenzie grew up in the Heidedal neighborhood of Bloemfontein, South Africa.[7] He used his story of changing from a life of crime to attaining success as a businessman as the basis for his motivational talks.[8]

He has gone on to work as a consultant in the mining industry and runs a diversified business with interests in several sectors.[9]

Politics

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McKenzie launched the Patriotic Alliance political party on 30 November 2013, and became the party's first president. McKenzie, along with long-time friend Kenny Kunene, have become known for using open letters to provoke political debate, cause controversy and attract attention.[10] Kunene left the Economic Freedom Fighters shortly after its formation before helping to launch the Patriotic Alliance.[11]

At the end of April 2014, just more than a week before the elections of 7 May, McKenzie wrote a highly critical open letter to Economic Freedom Fighters president Julius Malema, which gained widespread attention.[12] In the letter and in subsequent interviews, McKenzie referred to Malema as the "biggest threat facing South Africa". This was based partly on the EFF's policies on land expropriation and nationalisation. The primary criticism, however, was focused on the character of Malema himself, whom he accused of not being a real revolutionary, a "false prophet" whose promises would take South Africa to civil war and someone who had "stolen" significant amounts of public money during his political ascent.[12] Malema dismissed the letter as predictable rhetoric prior to an election.[13]

In 2024 Gayton McKenzie was appointed to the position of Minister of Sports, Art and Culture. He promptly pledged his ministerial salary to be donated to a charity that works to recover missing children.[14] Controversially, the charity, The Joslin Smith Foundation, was founded by McKenzie himself only a few weeks prior.[15][16]

Controversies

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Alleged corruption

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In 2022, then Central Karoo District Municipality mayor, Gayton McKenzie raised R3 million for service delivery at a gala dinner fundraising event in Sandton. The money was never deposited into the municipality's bank accounts.[17] In 2023, Eugene Botha, national head of legal affairs for the Patriotic Alliance and in whose bank account the money was later found, said that the money would be treated as a donation to the Patriotic Alliance and declared to the IEC.[18][19] In 2024, the Western Cape High Court ordered that McKenzie and the law firm linked to Botha, Botha E & Erasmus Y Inc, hand over relevant documents to investigators looking into allegations of corruption.[20]

Gang ties

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Gayton McKenzie, a convicted former criminal and 26s gang boss who was jailed for robbery for 17 years, has been alleged to have links to gang members as party leader of the Patriotic Alliance.[21][22]

In 2022, McKenzie was involved in the transfer of Eldorado Park gangster Jermaine Prim from a medium-security to a maximum-security facility; a move described as part of a gang war. In 2024, a Mail & Guardian investigation alleged McKenzie's party is funded by the daughter of slain 27s gang boss William “Red” Stevens; McKenzie denied the claims made in an audio recording by a councillor.[23]

Miss South Africa

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In 2024, McKenzie was criticised for his alleged xenophobic and Anti-African comments when he questioned the right of Chidimma Adetshina, who has immigrant parents, to contest the Miss South Africa contest.[24] It later emerged from a Department of Home Affairs investigation that Adetshina's birth was allegedly registered fraudulently in South Africa, a matter the government intended to prosecute, and she then withdrew from the competition.[25][26]

Books

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Many of his books have been bestsellers in South Africa, detailing his life of crime and subsequent return to society, politics, and advocacy work.[27][28][29][30][31][32] His works are:

  • Cilliers, Charles (2007): The Choice: The Gayton McKenzie story. ISBN 9780620368162
  • McKenzie, Gayton (2013): A Hustler's Bible: Words to Hustlers. Johannesburg: ZAR Empire Holdings. ISBN 9780620557719
  • McKenzie, Gayton (2014): The Uncomfortable Truth. Johannesburg: ZAR Empire Holdings. ISBN 9780620614962
  • McKenzie, Gayton (2017): A Hustler's Bible: The New Testament. Johannesburg: ZAR Empire Holdings. ISBN 9780620750950
  • McKenzie, Gayton (2017): Kill Zuma by any means necessary. Johannesburg: ZAR Empire Holdings. ISBN 9780639920405

References

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  1. ^ "Gayton McKenzie Biography, Age, Wife, Education, Career, Net Worth". City Media. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  2. ^ "COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO ALLEGED INCIDENTS OF CORRUPTION, MALADMINISTRATION, VIOLENCE OR INTIMIDATION INTO THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES APPOINTED BY ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA IN TERMS OF PROCLAMATION NO. 135 OF 2001, AS AMENDED" (PDF). Government Communication and Information System. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  3. ^ "Gayton McKenzie: I robbed a bank before age 16". Power 98.7. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Jail rape melted the ice in brutal gangster's heart". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  5. ^ Dolley, Caryn (30 August 2021). "Road to Local Elections: What do a gangster, a pastor and sushi have in common? The Patriotic Alliance". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  6. ^ McKenzie, Gayton. "Thug to Thug - Gayton McKenzie's harsh open letter to Julius Malema". Times LIVE.
  7. ^ Khumalo, Juniour. "Patriotic Alliance's Gayton McKenzie accused of lies, deceit by residents of his former home town". News24. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  8. ^ The Citizen 2017 [1] Retrieved 6 April 2017
  9. ^ "Gold Fields response to Carte Blanche report on BEE deal - About Politicsweb | Politicsweb". www.politicsweb.co.za. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  10. ^ Kunene, Kenny. "Kenny Kunene's letter to Zuma". IOL.
  11. ^ "Kenny Kunene quits EFF". Sowetan LIVE.
  12. ^ a b "Hard-hitting open letter to Julius Malema". News24.
  13. ^ "Malema responds to open letter". News24.
  14. ^ "Gayton McKenzie's Profile on the South African Government Website". Gov.za.
  15. ^ Solomons, Lisalee. "Gayton McKenzie pledges to donate 100% of ministerial salary to his Joshlin Smith Foundation". News24. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  16. ^ "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  17. ^ Charles, Marvin. "Pressure mounts on Central Karoo District over Gayton McKenzie's missing millions". News24. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  18. ^ Payne, Suné (29 June 2023). "'Missing' R3m from Gayton McKenzie fundraiser at centre of latest DA, PA strife". Daily Maverick. Archived from the original on 18 August 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  19. ^ Karrim, Azarrah. "McKenzie's millions: The lawyer, the R3m Karoo cash and the PA-linked trust account". News24. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  20. ^ Payne, Suné (4 June 2024). "Gayton McKenzie ordered to hand over documents for corruption probe". Daily Maverick. Archived from the original on 21 June 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Gang links to new parties".
  22. ^ "'Only I can take on drug lords and mafias': Former gang boss Gayton McKenzie".
  23. ^ Koko, Khaya (12 January 2024). "Recording alleges that gangsters, drugs fund the Patriotic Alliance". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  24. ^ Savage, Rachel (1 August 2024). "Miss South Africa contestant faces backlash over Nigerian father". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  25. ^ Savage, Rachel (8 August 2024). "Miss South Africa contestant withdraws after mother is accused of identity theft". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  26. ^ Maako, Compiled by Keitumetse. "Chidimma Adetshina withdraws from Miss SA". Life. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  27. ^ "The Choice". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  28. ^ "A Hustlers Bible - Exclusive Books". www.exclusivebooks.co.za. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  29. ^ "The Uncomfortable Truth". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  30. ^ Pantsi, Nandipha. "Gayton McKenzie launches 'Trapped'". The Citizen. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  31. ^ McKenzie, Gayton. "Kill Zuma By Any Means Necessary".
  32. ^ "A Hustler's Bible, the New Testament : Gayton McKenzie : 9780620750950". www.bookdepository.com. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
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