Patriotic Alliance Leader and former Central Karoo mayor Gayton McKenzie. Picture: Michel Bega
You’ve got to acknowledge that Patriotic Alliance (PA) leaders Gayton McKenzie and Kenny Kunene are emerging as worthy contenders to Police Minister Bheki Cele and Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi in the publicity stunt stakes.
The latest PA initiative certainly got a lot of traction on social media, showcasing as it did the efforts of McKenzie and others to chase away or catch Zimbabweans allegedly trying to illegally cross the Limpopo River into South Africa this week.
ALSO READ: PA unapologetic for turning back illegal foreign nationals at the SA – Zimbabwe border
Timing was everything, however, as the PA patrollers hit the riverbank just as the government was trying its own publicity stunt by getting TV cameras to focus on the efforts of the newly minted Border Management Authority (BMA) at the Beitbridge border post.
What the PA showed in their social media videos was that there are gaps in our border policing, no matter that it is supposedly a priority for the government.
Publicity-grabbing aside, the PA efforts focused attention on the issue of illegal immigrants. Even as the PA’s people patrolled, the BMA claimed it had stopped hundreds of border jumpers.
The flood of illegals appears to be continuing unabated – which is worrying as it will undoubtedly heighten anger and xenophobia among South African citizens.