By Johnathan Paoli
Pressure is mounting on President Cyril Ramaphosa to sack Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie after decade-old social media posts resurfaced in which he allegedly used racist and derogatory language to describe black South Africans.
The controversy erupted this week after screenshots of McKenzie’s tweets, some dating back to 2013, began circulating on X.
In the posts, the minister allegedly used an apartheid-era racial slur multiple times, defended it as “purely descriptive,” and made other derogatory remarks portraying Black people as inferior.
The revelations have sparked widespread outrage, with political parties, civil society groups, and ordinary South Africans demanding McKenzie’s immediate removal from office.
ActionSA has lodged a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), accusing McKenzie of the “repeated use of hateful apartheid-era slurs” intended to degrade Black South Africans.
In a statement, ActionSA spokesperson Matthew George said the party would escalate the matter if necessary.
“Minister McKenzie’s comments cannot be defended as anything other than racist and demeaning. Racism and the dehumanising of any person has no place in South Africa. We have reported him to the SAHRC, but we are fully prepared to institute proceedings at the Equality Court should the commission fail to act,” George said.
He added that ActionSA had also lodged a separate complaint against Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson for “deeply offensive and racially charged” remarks about ActionSA supporters, accusing him of referring to them as “amaphara” and “hobos.”
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba echoed the condemnation, stressing that the party rejects racism in all forms.
“We condemned vile remarks aimed at the coloured community earlier this week, and today we do the same in confronting racism against black South Africans. No Cabinet minister should get away with this,” Mashaba said.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has gone further, demanding McKenzie’s removal from office.
EFF spokesperson Sinawo Thambo accused McKenzie of harbouring “a long history of hateful, racist, and dehumanising remarks” toward black people.
According to the EFF, McKenzie’s tweets included claims that Black people had “no ambition beyond collecting cattle to buy a wife and living in indolence and nakedness,” a statement he attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, as well as suggestions that terms like “tenderpreneur” and “Black Diamond” simply meant “a better kaffir.”
The EFF described these as “not minor lapses or slips of the tongue” but deliberate expressions of anti-black prejudice, comparing them to the rhetoric of apartheid apologists.
The party accused McKenzie of hypocrisy, pointing to his recent outrage over derogatory remarks made about coloured people on a podcast.
“While he was right to be offended by prejudice against his community, his double standard strips him of any moral standing to lead on issues of non-racialism,” Thambo said.
The EFF also argued that McKenzie’s remarks—made years after his release from prison—undermined his claims of rehabilitation.
They warned that allowing him to remain in office would signal that government condones racism if the perpetrator is politically connected.
African Transformation Movement (ATM) MP Vuyo Zungula also weighed in, urging President Cyril Ramaphosa to take “drastic action” against McKenzie.
Zungula stressed that such language cannot be tolerated in a constitutional democracy committed to racial equality.
McKenzie’s party, the Patriotic Alliance (PA), has dismissed the accusations, insisting he has no history of racism. They argue that the posts are being taken out of context and that his political record reflects a commitment to unity.
McKenzie himself has yet to release a full public statement but has previously defended some of his older posts as “descriptive” rather than derogatory.
The allegations have dominated online discourse in recent days, with hashtags calling for McKenzie’s resignation trending across social media. Critics argue that the sports ministry—tasked with fostering unity and national pride—cannot be led by someone accused of using such divisive language.
Removing McKenzie could reinforce the principle of accountability but risks straining political relations with the PA, a coalition partner whose support is vital in some provincial governments.
The SAHRC has confirmed receipt of ActionSA’s complaint and is expected to decide in the coming weeks whether to launch a formal investigation.
Meanwhile, both ActionSA and the EFF have warned they will pursue legal action independently if the commission fails to act decisively.
INSIDE POLITICS