McKenzie on Kunene's visit to DJ Sumbody murder accused: ‘He was set up'
Businessman Katiso Molefe was arrested in connection with DJ Sumbody's November 2022 murder but Kunene claims he was only at his house during the police raid to facilitate an interview.
PA leader McKenzie has ordered an internal investigation by lawyers to protect the party's integrity.
Kenny Kunene was set up and had nothing to do with the murder case of Oupa John Sefoka, popularly known as DJ Sumbody in 2022.
This is according to Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie, who added that Kunene 'would never get involved with murderers'.
However, McKenzie said he was left with no choice but to suspend his deputy for a month. Kunene was found at the Sandton home of businessman Katiso 'Kat' Molefe during a police raid on Monday. Molefe was arrested in connection with Sefoka's murder.
Kunene told eNCA on Tuesday that he was at Molefe's house to facilitate an interview with a young journalist.
McKenzie said Kunene's presence at the time of the raid was an unfortunate incident which led to him making the 'difficult decision' to suspend the 'sushi king'.
Taking to social media platform Facebook on Tuesday, McKenzie announced in a video that an internal investigation would be launched and Kunene would be required to step down temporarily from his position as deputy president of the PA, to allow for the investigation to proceed without interference.
'Kenny Kunene will be investigated and I'm going to tell you who will investigate him – lawyers of good character,' he said.
While he is being investigated, I will remove him as an MMC [in the Johannesburg metro]. I'm also going to tell him to stay away from politics for a month until the investigation is completed. That is the most difficult thing I have ever had to do in my life.
Gayton McKenzie
Kunene denied any wrongdoing, insisting that he had no relationship with Molefe and that he was only at Molefe's house accompanying a journalist who was going to interview him.
I was there to take the journalist to interview him. Since I took office, I have not been able to focus on my Africa News Global [website], which has not been active as I have not been able to focus on it since I took office.
Kenny Kunene
'There was an opportunity to interview Mr Molefe, he is interesting because he has been accused of having masterminded a murder. There are interesting things surrounding him and it would have been a great exclusive for the young journalist to interview him.
I've never been to his house before and I don't even have his contact details.
Kenny Kunene
Meanwhile, the DA in Johannesburg has called on Johannesburg executive mayor Dada Morero to take urgent action against Kunene and remove him permanently from his position as transport MMC.
'A political party has no power to suspend an MMC in government. The mayor appoints or removes MMCs. The PA must not play with the intelligence of the residents. Is Kenny removed as a councillor or not? The Speaker hasn't indicated any letter from his party to remove him,' DA Johannesburg caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku posted on X.
She told Newzroom Afrika:
What is concerning to me is that during the day, the MMC of transport has the time to visit a murder suspect, to take a journalist to a murder suspect's house. It is very concerning that one of the members of the executive, who has no time to explain to residents why potholes are not fixed, has the time to visit a murder suspect. That is why we are concerned.
Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku
Despite Kunene's explanation, McKenzie stressed the importance of transparency and accountability, especially given the seriousness of Sefako's murder case.
McKenzie said he would be writing to the Johannesburg council to formally inform the metro of his decision to remove Kunene from the transport portfolio. He also reiterated that the suspension did not imply guilt but was a necessary step to protect the PA's integrity and ensure that the investigation proceeded without any perceived bias or interference.
The popular DJ was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in November 2022. The case had remained a high-profile investigation with few public developments, until Molefe's recent arrest.
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