PA President Gayton McKenzie Threatens to Resign Over Kenny Kunene Reinstatement Dispute
Patriotic Alliance (PA) president and Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has threatened to resign from his ministerial post and pull his party out of all coalitions with the African National Congress (ANC) if his deputy, Kenny Kunene, is not reinstated as Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for transport in the City of Johannesburg.
McKenzie made the ultimatum in a late-night Facebook post on Thursday, opening with: “They have pushed us too far, patriots.”
The PA leader cited multiple grievances in his post, including the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) allegedly refusing to form a coalition with the PA in Ekurhuleni and the ANC only granting the party one portfolio in Johannesburg despite negotiations for two. However, McKenzie made it clear that the Kunene issue is the party’s red line.
“We took a decision as the Patriotic Alliance leadership to give the ANC seven days to reinstate Kenny Kunene; failing to do so will necessitate a move which will cause us to withdraw from all local, provincial and national governments where we are in a coalition with the ANC,” he wrote.
“I shall also vacate my position as minister of sports, arts and culture on Tuesday, together with all deployed leaders in local, provincial and national government. We shall all go to the ground. Never forget the biggest lesson here. You can’t remain to dine at a table when disrespect is on the menu; we opt to leave rather. Ons baiza nie.”
Kunene resigned from his positions as Joburg councillor and MMC for transport in July after the PA suspended him following his presence at the home of alleged murder mastermind Katiso “KT” Molefe. In a letter announcing Kunene’s suspension as deputy president, McKenzie explained that the allegations had created public concern, necessitating further investigation, and that Kunene had agreed to step aside until fully cleared.
On Monday, McKenzie announced that Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, the law firm tasked with investigating Kunene’s presence at Molefe’s home, had cleared him of any wrongdoing. During a Facebook Live session, McKenzie said he had always believed in Kunene’s innocence.
Molefe is currently behind bars, denied bail, and faces charges for the 2022 murders of Oupa John Sefoka (DJ Sumbody) and Hector Buthelezi (DJ Vintos).
In his Thursday post, McKenzie explained that the PA had temporarily withdrawn Kunene from the City of Johannesburg to “spare the coalition the agony of answering questions about someone who is not from their party.” The party had replaced Kunene with Liam Jacobs, but the ANC in Gauteng and Mayor Dada Morero allegedly refused to swear him in as MMC for roads and transport, citing inexperience.
“I had to point out to them how educated Liam is compared to [people] in [the] same position currently who [have] no matric. I also showed [them] that he already was [an] MP at a young age,” McKenzie wrote. Jacobs had previously served as a Democratic Alliance MP but resigned to join the PA and has since been announced as a mayoral candidate for the City of Cape Town.
“The real reason came out immediately. Dada Morero promised roads and transport to [Julius] Malema’s EFF. I told them that we signed as PA for that portfolio and not Kenny Kunene or Gayton McKenzie. The position was given to PA and not to an individual. PA has the right to fill that position with any individual they deem fit. I also take great exception to them wanting to prescribe who PA deploys. We were forced to withdraw Liam a few weeks after he [was] made a councillor, a very humiliating experience for the PA. Kenny Kunene was cleared, and still they refused to take him back. Dada was adamant. Kenny is still waiting.”
McKenzie also cited ongoing service delivery failures as part of his frustration, referring to Westbury, Newclare, and Coronationville, where residents had been without water for weeks. He claimed to have personally intervened by supplying water trucks to the communities after the City failed to respond.
While the PA has threatened to exit the GNU over Kunene’s reinstatement, McKenzie’s stance has previously been more favourable. Just a day before his Thursday post, he had praised the GNU at a human rights celebration in the Western Cape, highlighting how well ministers were working together and noting that other parties now sought to join the GNU.
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