‘Our president is not a racist': Kunene hits back at McKenzie critics amid podcast, X posts uproar
McKenzie orders Equality Court action over the Open Chats Podcast insult storm.
Podcast outrage fuels fiery debate on where free speech ends and hate speech begins.
Suspended Patriotic Alliance (PA) deputy president Kenny Kunene has held nothing back in defending the party's leader Gayton McKenzie, declaring that neither of them are racist.
He has vowed that the party not be deterred and will pursue legal action over offensive remarks made about the coloured community on the Open Chats Podcast.
In an X post, Kunene, who was suspended by McKenzie for a month from party political work and duties as MMC, said:
I and all members of Patriotic Alliance know that our president is not a racist and we stand cement vas with pres. PA will proceed with the Equality Court case and other institutions to deal with the racist insults peddled on the podcast. Salute.
Kenny Kunene
Kunene's suspension came after he was found at the house of the alleged DJ Sumbody murder mastermind Katiso Molefe when he was arrested.
Following calls by political parties for McKenzie to resign amid racism allegations, Kunene accused political opponents of trying to 'divert attention' from the podcast scandal by resurfacing his old 2011 posts, insisting they were not racist but rather observations about the exploitation of African foreign nationals by white-owned businesses.
@GaytonMcK is unfairly attacked on old tweets of 2011 to divert attention from the insensitive and rude insults on coloured community in a podcast. His crime was to defend the coloured people and take action on those insensitive, rude and arrogant young people. I and all members…
— Kenny Kunene (@Kenny_T_Kunene) August 9, 2025
When asked by another X user if he considered posts racist, Kunene replied:
'Yes, they are not racist.'
He also painted a personal picture of McKenzie's background to drive home his defense:
This man @GaytonMcK has never been, is not and will never be a racist. His mother is a South Sotho woman from Batho location in Mangaung, and his father is coloured. Even in prison he brought a team together made up of black, white, indian and coloured inmates. Your campaign, Tony Yengeni and your cronies, will never succeed. We see you. @OnsBaizaNie.
Kenny Kunene
The controversial episode of the Open Chats Podcast, which has since been edited to remove the offensive parts, featured a disturbing exchange among the hosts.
During a conversation about racial stereotypes, the hosts made crude and damaging claims about coloured people, implying that intra-family sexual relations were common and linking this to mental illness.
The clip, which spread quickly on social media, triggered widespread outrage.
Though the podcast team apologised, claiming they did not intend to harm or disrespect, the backlash showed no signs of slowing.
Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Mmapaseka Steve Letsike condemned the remarks, warning that platforms with mass reach cannot 'weaponise speech' under the guise of open dialogue.
McKenzie promised a strong legal and political response, giving the SABC seven days to cancel the show and threatening to mobilise 10 000 – 20 000 of his party's supporters in protest. Realising that the podcast had actually been aired on a MultiChoice platform, in a video update posted on Facebook, McKenzie said that he had spoken to MultiChoice, which he said was 'disgusted' by the remarks and would not renew the podcast's contract.
If coloured people made those remarks about any other race group, it would be front-page news. We must never allow people to become that comfortable with disrespecting us.
Gayton McKenzie
Kunene's defence of McKenzie comes as he faces his own legal woes.
This as the Johannesburg High Court recently ruled that his 2021 description of EFF leader Julius Malema as a 'cockroach' was hate speech.
Kunene is now required to apologise both in writing and orally to Malema.
However, Kunene maintains his comments were provoked by repeated insults from Malema, who had called him a 'pantiti', and says he was merely responding in kind.
The Open Chats Podcast fallout has reignited South Africa's debate on where free expression ends and hates speech begins.
Both Letsike and McKenzie have stressed that new media platforms must be held to the same ethical standards as traditional broadcasters.
As Letsike put it: 'We value freedom of expression, but it must be balanced with accountability. Hate speech is not to be equated to free speech. It can escalate into incitement, which is constitutionally prohibited.'
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