POLL: Should Minister Gayton McKenzie resign over the K-word controversy?
The likes of celebrated media personality Sizwe Dhlomo and the Economic Freedom Fighters, are among those who have called for McKenzie to step down over the controversy wherein a series of k-word calling tweets, most at least 10 years old, were uncovered.
McKenzie had vocally came out in defence of the Coloured community when a group of young young Black African podcasters from the Open Chats Podcast made vile, regressive and racist comments about the Coloured community recently.
They have since apologized, but they too are now subject of a formal complaint to the Human Rights Commission, while McKenzie's political party, the Patriotic Alliance, formally opened criminal cases with the SA Police Services through its Joburg councillor Liam Jacobs.
McKenzie has been vocal in speaking out against the racist comments made by the podcasters, saying they needed to be taught a lesson, but in so doing, he hosted a Facebook Live wherein he repeatedly made use of the K-word.
This led some social media users to turn the attention on the minister, unveiling a series of equally denegrating and racist comments from McKenzie, who at the time was not a politician, but an ordinary South African.
In an attempt to address the K-word comments, the minister hosted another Facebook Live session speaking to his Patriotic Alliance constituency on Sunday evening. He apologized for being a troll and stupid, cringed at the remarks he had made and apologized on that aspect, however, he vehemently denied he was a racist, saying his mother was Black African and he also had children with a Black African woman.
McKenzie firmly denied ever calling anyone by the K-word slur and dared any victim to come forward, labeling the allegations a politically driven 'campaign' orchestrated by the EFF and social media influencers. He also accused the ActionSA of using the saga to get its foot in the Government of National Unity at the expense of the PA.
McKenzie challenged critics to produce concrete proof, arguing that without a specific victim or direct quote, claims of racism against him were baseless.
McKenzie also reiterated his lifelong fight for equal treatment of Black African and Coloured South Africans, calling any suggestion to the contrary 'hilarious.'
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