Gayton McKenzie

Last updated

Founder of the Patriotic Alliance
Nicolette Joubert
​
(m. 2003)​
Gayton McKenzie
Executive Mayor of the Central Karoo District Municipality
In office
11 April 2022 –2 May 2023
Assumed office
15 November 2013
Children2
Occupation
  • Businessman
  • politician
  • motivational speaker
  • author
  • activist

Gayton McKenzie (born 10 March 1974) is a South African politician and convicted criminal, who was previously jailed for robbery for 17 years. [2] [3] [4] He is a business man, a motivational speaker, author and former Executive Mayor of the Central Karoo District Municipality in South Africa. He is also the president of the Patriotic Alliance political party. [5] He came to prominence in the early 2000s for his role in a prison exposé that eventually led to his early release amid an investigation of prison corruption by the Jali Commission of Inquiry. [6] McKenzie grew up in the Bloemfontein neighborhood of Heidedal, South Africa. [7]

Contents

Business activities

McKenzie used his story of shifting from a life of crime [8] during the apartheid years in South Africa to attaining success as a businessman as the basis for his popular motivational talks. He travelled to many schools in South Africa during his early years as a speaker, sponsored by a security company. [9]

He has gone on to work as a consultant in the mining industry in Zimbabwe [10] and runs a diversified business with interests in restaurants, hotels and events venues, logistics and transport, imports, mining, energy, entertainment and events, publishing and farming.

Publishing

Many of his books have been bestsellers in South Africa, starting with The Choice: The Gayton McKenzie Story. [11] Other books include A Hustler's Bible, [12] The Uncomfortable Truth, [13] Trapped, [14] Kill Zuma By Any Means Necessary, [15] and A Hustler's Bible, The New Testament. [16]

Politics

McKenzie launched the Patriotic Alliance political party on 30 November 2013, and became the party's first president. McKenzie, along with long-time friend Kenny Kunene, have become known for using open letters to provoke political debate, cause controversy and attract attention. [17] Kunene left the Economic Freedom Fighters months after its formation [18] before helping to launch the Patriotic Alliance. Kunene was later rumoured to have also left the Patriotic Alliance after the 2014 national elections, but he has strongly denied this. [19]

At the end of April 2014, just more than a week before the elections of 7 May, McKenzie wrote a highly critical open letter to Economic Freedom Fighters president Julius Malema, which gained widespread attention. [20] In the letter and in subsequent interviews, McKenzie referred to Malema as the "biggest threat facing South Africa". This was based partly on the EFF's policies on land expropriation and nationalisation. The primary criticism, however, was focused on the character of Malema himself, whom he accused of not being a real revolutionary, a "false prophet" whose promises would take South Africa to civil war and someone who had "stolen" significant amounts of public money during his political ascent. [20] Malema dismissed the letter as predictable rhetoric prior to an election. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julius Malema</span> South African politician (born 1981)

Julius Sello Malema is a South African politician who is the founder and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a populist far-left political party known for the red berets and military-style outfits worn by its members. Before its foundation, he served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League from 2008 until his expulsion from the party in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Kunene</span> South African businessman and ex-convict

Kenny Kunene is a South African businessman, politician, motivational speaker, teacher, activist and former convict. Kunene currently serves as Deputy President of the Patriotic Alliance. He served as Secretary-General of the Patriotic Alliance from 2013 to 2014. While working as a high school English teacher, Kunene opened a shebeen selling alcohol after work and began engaging in criminal activities including robberies and fraud. In 1997, he was convicted of running a Ponzi scheme for which he served six years in prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 South African general election</span> 2014 South African National Assembly and provincial legislatures elections

General elections were held in South Africa on 7 May 2014, to elect a new National Assembly and new provincial legislatures in each province. It was the fifth election held in South Africa under conditions of universal adult suffrage since the end of the apartheid era in 1994, and also the first held since the death of Nelson Mandela. It was also the first time that South African expatriates were allowed to vote in a South African national election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economic Freedom Fighters</span> Far-left political party in South Africa

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a South African communist and black nationalist political party. It was founded by expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) President Julius Malema, and his allies, in 2013. Malema is President of the EFF, heading the Central Command Team, which serves as the central structure of the party. It is currently the third-largest party in both houses of the Parliament of South Africa. The party is also the official opposition in three of South Africa's nine provincial legislatures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriotic Alliance</span> South African political party

The Patriotic Alliance (PA) is a South African political party, formed in November 2013 by, among others, businessman Gayton McKenzie, and by socialite Kenny Kunene, a former English teacher turned businessman.

<i>Economic Freedom Fighters v Speaker of the National Assembly</i> 2016 South African legal case

Economic Freedom Fighters v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others; Democratic Alliance v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others [2016] ZACC 11 is an important judgment of the Constitutional Court of South Africa which finds that President Jacob Zuma breached the South African Constitution by failing to implement the recommendations in the Public Protector's Nkandla report.

Mbuyiseni Quintin Ndlozi MP is a South African politician and political activist. He has been a Member of the National Assembly, representing the Economic Freedom Fighters, since 2014. He also served as the first official spokesperson for the party until his resignation in 2020. He was replaced as party spokesperson by fellow member of the Economic Freedom Fighters, youth activist Vuyani Pambo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 South African general election</span>

General elections were held in South Africa on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President, National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would become the next President of South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 South African presidential election</span>

A presidential election was held in the National Assembly in South Africa on 15 February 2018 following the resignation of Jacob Zuma on 14 February. Acting president Cyril Ramaphosa of the ruling African National Congress won the election unopposed due to no other party nominating a candidate. Ramaphosa was sworn in by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng at 5pm, 15 February 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VBS Mutual Bank</span> Defunct South African mutual bank

VBS Mutual Bank was a South African mutual bank. In 2018 it was declared insolvent and bankrupt and placed under curatorship, with South African citizens and taxpayers defrauded out of roughly R2 billion.

The Shadow Cabinet of Mmusi Maimane was formed on 5 June 2014 in South Africa following his election as Parliamentary Leader of the Democratic Alliance and Leader of the Opposition on 29 May 2014. The Democratic Alliance parliamentary caucus also elected other caucus leadership. John Steenhuisen was elected Chief Whip with Anchen Dreyer as Caucus Chairperson. These elections all occurred following the 2014 general elections, in which the Democratic Alliance retained its post as the Official Opposition in the National Assembly of South Africa.

"Dubul' ibhunu", translated as shoot the Boer, as kill the Boer or as kill the farmer, is a controversial anti-apartheid South African song. It is sung in Xhosa or Zulu. The song originates in the struggle against apartheid when it was first sung to protest the Afrikaner dominated apartheid government of South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political parties that contested the 2019 South African general election</span> Parties that contested the 2019 South African general election

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) announced on 20 March 2019 that a record number of 48 parties had registered candidates for the national parliamentary election. This is 19 more parties that contested the 2014 national elections. In the provincial legislature elections, the total number of parties registering candidates were:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 South African municipal elections</span> South African municipal elections which were held on 1 November 2021

The 2021 South African municipal elections were held on 1 November 2021, to elect councils for all district, metropolitan and local municipalities in each of the country's nine provinces. It is the sixth municipal election held in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994, held every five years. The previous municipal elections were held in 2016. On 21 April 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the elections will be held on Wednesday, 27 October 2021. It had been recommend by Dikgang Moseneke to delay the municipal elections until 2022. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) requested the Constitutional Court to support the date postponement. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) supported the date postponement while the Democratic Alliance (DA) was against the postponement of the date. The Constitutional Court dismissed the application to postpone the date until 2022, ruling that they had to take place between 27 October and 1 November. On 9 September 2021, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma announced that the elections would be held on 1 November.

Thembinkosi Rawula is a South African politician. He was a senior member of the Economic Freedom Fighters and a Member of Parliament for the party until he resigned in April 2019 after accusing party leaders of financial mismanagement.

<i>Our Poisoned Land</i>

Our Poisoned Land: Living in the Shadows of Zuma's Keepers a 2022 book by Jacques Pauw, a South African investigative journalist, about the allegedly corrupt power networks between the South African government and the country's political elite, most notably the African National Congress (ANC). The book follows on from Pauw's 2017 book The President's Keepers but with greater focus on government institutions not looked at in the previous book and the State Security Agency (SSA). It is updated to include findings from government committees and investigations such as the Zondo Commission. It asks why, after 5 years since the end of the Zuma administration, have most people implicated in state corruption still not been prosecuted and examines efforts to fight corruption in the post-Jacob Zuma ANC government under Cyril Ramaphosa.

Michael Collen Sedibe is a South African politician who is currently a Member of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature and the provincial leader of the legislature's official opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). He joined the EFF in 2013 after he was expelled from the African National Congress and he was first elected to the provincial legislature in the 2014 general election. In September 2022, he was elected to a third term as the EFF's Provincial Chairperson in Mpumalanga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tebogo Mokwele</span> South African politician

Tebogo Josephine Mokwele is a South African politician who served in the National Assembly of South Africa from May to August 2019 as a member of the Economic Freedom Fighters party. Prior to serving in the National Assembly, Mokwele had been a permanent delegate to the National Council of Provinces from the North West from 2014 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 South African National Shutdown</span> Protest In response to the South African Energy Crisis

The 2023 South African National Shutdown was a protest held by the political party Economic Freedom Fighters on 20 March 2023, the day before Human Rights Day. The EFF called for the resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa and an end to load-shedding. The leader of the EFF, Julius Malema, warned businesses countrywide to close their doors or risk being looted by them.

Kgotso Zachariah Morapela is a South African politician for the Economic Freedom Fighters. He was the party's provincial chairman in the Free State until 2018 and represented the party in the National Assembly and the Free State Provincial Legislature.

References

  1. ↑ "Gayton McKenzie Biography, Age, Wife, Education, Career, Net Worth". City Media. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Gayton McKenzie: I robbed a bank before age 16". Power 98.7. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  3. ↑ "Jail rape melted the ice in brutal gangster's heart". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  4. ↑ Dolley, Caryn (30 August 2021). "Road to Local ELections: What do a gangster, a pastor and sushi have in common? The Patriotic Alliance". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  5. ↑ McKenzie, Gayton. "Thug to Thug - Gayton McKenzie's harsh open letter to Julius Malema: iLIVE". Times LIVE.
  6. ↑ "Final Report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of Corruption, Maladministration and Violence in the Department of Correctional Services - Sonke Gender Justice". Sonke Gender Justice. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  7. ↑ Khumalo, Juniour. "Patriotic Alliance's Gayton McKenzie accused of lies, deceit by residents of his former home town". News24. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  8. ↑ The Citizen 2017 Retrieved 6 April 2017
  9. ↑ "Gayton McKenzie Motivational Speaker". gaytonmckenzie.blogspot.co.za. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  10. ↑ "Gold Fields response to Carte Blanche report on BEE deal - About Politicsweb | Politicsweb". www.politicsweb.co.za. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  11. ↑ "The Choice". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  12. ↑ "A Hustlers Bible - Exclusive Books". www.exclusivebooks.co.za. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  13. ↑ "The Uncomfortable Truth". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  14. ↑ Pantsi, Nandipha. "Gayton McKenzie launches 'Trapped'". The Citizen. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  15. ↑ McKenzie, Gayton. "Kill Zuma By Any Means Necessary".
  16. ↑ Depository, Book. "A Hustler's Bible, the New Testament : Gayton McKenzie : 9780620750950". www.bookdepository.com. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  17. ↑ Kunene, Kenny. "Kenny Kunene's letter to Zuma". IOL.
  18. ↑ "Kenny Kunene quits EFF". Sowetan LIVE.
  19. ↑ "Kenny Kunene not quitting". ewn.co.za. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  20. 1 2 "Hard-hitting open letter to Julius Malema". News24.
  21. ↑ "Malema responds to open letter". News24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.