Will he pull out? Gayton McKenzie threatens to withdraw from the Government of National Unity
Gayton McKenzie, leader of the Patriotic Alliance (PA)
Image: Michael Sherman/IOL
Leader of the Patriotic Alliance, Gayton McKenzie, has threatened to pull his party out of the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the Johannesburg coalition. He cited what he called disrespect from coalition partners and the alleged sidelining of his deputy, Kenny Kunene.
McKenzie, who serves as the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture in the GNU, said his party is tired of being treated as though its role in government does not matter, despite the mandate it received from voters in the 2024 general elections. The PA surprised many when it secured nine seats in Parliament, making it a key player in the formation of the GNU.
Speaking to broadcaster eNCA on Heritage Day, McKenzie stated that his party would be withdrawing from the coalition agreements.
“We are not considering, we are withdrawing from our relationship in coalitions and immediately after that we are going to start the processes of withdrawing from the GNU also. In the GNU you sign that if you are unhappy, there are processes that you follow. In the coalitions, we didn’t sign that, so we are leaving immediately from the coalitions,” he said.
McKenzie added, “We are giving the intention to withdraw from the GNU simply because we wanna be respected. We cannot be treated like that by Dada Morero. He cannot even give our people water. He has got something against us, and we see it in how he treats the people of Westbury. We are not here for positions. I will go back, I will go to the ground and we will see what the future holds.”
The flashpoint is the delay in reinstating Kunene as the City of Johannesburg’s transport MMC, and the PA accuses Joburg Mayor Dada Morero of dragging his feet.
PA deputy president Kenny Kunene
Image: Sharon Seretlo / Independent Newspapers
Earlier this week, IOL reported that Kunene has been cleared of any wrongdoing by a law firm and has resumed his duties in the party. McKenzie made the announcement.
In July, IOL reported that the PA had suspended Kunene pending an investigation into his presence at the Sandton home of businessman Katiso “KT” Molefe, a suspect in the 2022 assassination of popular musician and club owner Oupa “DJ Sumbody” Sefoka.
In a Facebook Live broadcast on Monday evening, McKenzie said he was relieved after a probe by respected law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr exonerated his deputy, Kunene.
“They say his story corroborates. So the DP (deputy president Kunene) is innocent, they investigated him, interviewed people, you will see it for yourselves. I am giving it (the report) to Patriotic Alliance members. This is where you will get your news when they write stuff about you. To the DP, I wanna say to you, I am so happy, my brother, my friend, my co-leader, thank you.
“The DP has been found that his story checks out. Liam (Jacobs) will resign tonight as a councillor because he is moving straight to Cape Town. He’s gonna live in Cape Town full-time because he has to travel around the country.
“To the DP, you have shown absolute leadership. When you were asked to step down from being an MMC, you asked me if you must also step down as a councillor, and I said yes. You never went out to badmouth the party. I want to say our DP is back,” McKenzie said.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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