While maintaining his innocence regarding racism, McKenzie offered an apology for his past online behaviour.
Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has issued a public apology for “insensitive, stupid and hurtful” tweets from more than a decade ago, while vehemently denying allegations of racism and blaming the EFF for orchestrating a political campaign against him.
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader found himself under intense scrutiny last week after old tweets resurfaced on social media.
This came after he called for accountability against the Open Chats Podcast hosts for making racist remarks about coloured people.
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Gayton McKenzie denies racist intent
McKenzie mounted a defence during a Facebook Live broadcast on Sunday night, asking: “How can I be racist against black people if I’m black?”
He emphasised his mixed heritage and personal relationships to counter the allegations.
“I’m the son of a black woman, I have children with a black woman, I fought my whole life for the same treatment between black and coloured people because we fought the same struggle,” McKenzie stated on Monday.
The minister denied ever using racial slurs to attack individuals directly.
“In my entire life, I have never called anybody the K-word. Never,” he said during the live broadcast.
“Where are the victims? This is a political campaign driven by EFF together with some, they call them influencers on Twitter.”
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Historical tweets surface
Despite his denials, McKenzie acknowledged problematic past behaviour.
A 2011 tweet has caused particular controversy, where he responded “Bulls**t” to a user who wrote: “When we coloureds say k****r, it’s the same as when we call other coloureds bu****s, or Indians c****e. Purely descriptive.”
McKenzie explained his position on the tweet: “This person makes this comment. I say, bull***t, because it’s bull***t to even call people that. Now, how did I go from calling out somebody to being the person using those words?”
However, multiple tweets from McKenzie containing the racial slur have been found, with some having been deleted by him.
Words like "Black Diamond" basically means you a better kaffir, stop naming & giving nonsensical titles 2 Blacks.
— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) August 3, 2017
A Kaffir sole ambition is 2 collect a certain number of cattle 2 buy a wife with, and then pass his life in indolence and nakedness- Gandhi
— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) June 30, 2013
Gayton McKenzie referred to black people as kaffirs more than once even justifying why he can use such a derogatory term.
His actions were not accidental he was unapologetically intentional about it.
He must not lie to us and say he has changed when his actions prove otherwise pic.twitter.com/a0fX6uv8ij— Melanin_Mmaps (@Melanin_Mmaps) August 8, 2025
Political campaign allegations
The minister characterised the scrutiny as politically motivated, pointing to the timing and resources involved.
“Do you know they went back 11 years? Do you know how much money it is to have people investigate each and everything that you’ve done in your life?”
McKenzie described the situation as “the most humiliating, embarrassing, angry… It’s something that makes my blood boil. Because I never thought people would accuse me of racism”.
He added that they were in “silly season of the elections”, suggesting the timing was deliberate.
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Coloured identity and political stance
Throughout his defence, McKenzie highlighted his advocacy for coloured South Africans.
“Coloured people don’t enjoy the same privileges as black people in South Africa, although we fought the same struggle. This is and has always been my fight,” he stated on Monday.
He explained his political evolution, saying he had to view himself as black when in the ANC, but started disagreeing with the party when he realised coloured people were being left behind.
McKenzie argued that coloured people are black but not African, and do not receive the same legislative preferences as black people despite fighting alongside them during apartheid.
“The time of coloured people being treated as second-class citizens was over,” he declared.
McKenzie identifies as a person of mixed ancestry, including African and Japanese heritage.
Past admissions surface
The controversy has been compounded by the emergence of an eight-month-old video where McKenzie admitted to previously engaging in sexual assault.
During a motivational speech at Golekane mentorship camp in December 2024, he told young men about his past behaviour as a gangster.
“I didn’t respect women when I was a gangster, I didn’t. Some of you don’t know what rape is. When you sleep with a girl when she’s drunk, it’s rape, you don’t have consent,” McKenzie said in the footage.
He used this admission to counsel the young men.
McKenzie’s deputy president Kenny Kunene has also faced scrutiny, with his own controversial tweets resurfacing.
These include statements suggesting that men who provide alcohol to women can sleep with them if they become intoxicated.
The Citizen has reached out to the PA for comment regarding these issues. This article will be updated once the party responds.
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Political pressure mounts
The allegations have created significant political pressure for McKenzie, who appeared to be worried about disappointing President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“I’ve been given an opportunity by President [Cyril] Ramaphosa, and the last thing I want to do is humiliate him,” he said.
Meanwhile, ActionSA recently lodged a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) against McKenzie, accusing him of racism.
“ActionSA has reported Minister Gayton McKenzie to the South African Human Rights Commission for racist remarks in which he repeatedly used hateful slurs from the apartheid era, along with other offensive references that served to degrade and dehumanise black South Africans,” said the party’s spokesperson, Matthew George.
“Racism and the dehumanising of any person, regardless of their race, has no place in South Africa.”
The DA’s leader, John Steenhuisen also condemned McKenzie’s social media posts, saying that sort of language has no place in South Africa.
“I think that there’s an extra duty of care on leaders in society to be careful about what they say and how they say it, and to ensure that we don’t divide people and that we don’t use these racial epithets.”
He added that the DA itself has faced similar situations where people have said racially diving words. However, he said those people were removed from the party.
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Despite the controversy, McKenzie emphasised his commitment to non-racial politics within the PA.
He stated that he has given several opportunities to black politicians in his party and has refused to lead a party consisting only of coloured people.
The PA has decided to stick by their leader, denying allegations of racism against him.
Apology and investigation
While maintaining his innocence regarding racism, McKenzie offered an apology for his past online behaviour.
“I did tweet some insensitive, stupid and hurtful things a decade or two ago. I was a troll and stupid. I cringe when seeing them and I am truly sorry for that,” he stated on Monday.
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