A parliamentary ethics committee cannot probe Gayton McKenzie’s old tweets containing racial slurs, including the K-word, as they did not fall within the timeframe of him being an MP.
Over the past few days, screenshots of the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture’s old social media posts have caused widespread backlash. The Patriotic Alliance leader has defended some of the tweets and apologised for a few he claims were “insensitive and stupid.”
Others, he claims, are AI-generated by his critics.
WHY PARLIAMENT CAN’T PROBE GAYTON MCKENZIE’S OLD TWEETS
On Tuesday, 12 August, Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo stated that an ethics committee could not probe Gayton McKenzie’s old tweets from 2013 – 2017 as he was not an MP at the time.
He said: “In terms of Item 4(2)(a) of the code, read with Item 4(3)(f), conduct committed before a person becomes an MP does not fall within the scope of the code.
“Accordingly, no complaint has been opened by the registrar, and both parties were informed of this in writing earlier today. There is, therefore, no competent complaint before the ethics committee.”
Over the weekend, parliament received a letter of complaint from the Africa Transformation Movement political party calling for Gayton to be removed as Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture.
SAHRC TO ADDRESS COMPLAINTS
While parliament cannot take any action against Gayton McKenzie, the South African Human Rights Commission is set to address the old tweets.
The committee will meet this week to discuss several complaints of racism lodged against the minister. They will issue a statement in due course.
‘I NEVER CALLED SOMEONE THE K-WORD’
Meanwhile, Gayton McKenzie has stood firm on his claims that he has never used the K-word racial slur.
He said in a recent Facebook Live: “I never thought people would accuse me of racism.
“In my entire life, I’ve never called anybody the K-word. We are the victims. This is a political campaign driven by the EFF, together with some influencers on X. Let them show me where I used the K-word referring to someone. They can’t.
Images via X
He added: “There must be a victim. Racism has a victim. Who is the victim, and did I ever use the K-word on? That’s the first thing they should prove. Secondly, is there anyone in this world who can say I’ve been racist towards them? No.”
WHAT ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN AGAINST GAYTON MCKENZIE?
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