CAPE TOWN, South Africa - The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) will urgently take Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie to the Equality Court over resurfaced tweets from 2011 to 2017 containing the racial slur "k-word," the commission said on Tuesday. The decision follows complaints about McKenzie’s social media posts, deemed violations of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act.
The SAHRC found prima facie evidence of hate speech in McKenzie’s posts, which included the "k-word," a term ruled unlawful by South Africa’s Constitutional Court. The commission sent an allegation letter to McKenzie, requesting he retract the posts, issue a public apology, undergo sensitivity training, and donate to a charity. McKenzie, who leads the Patriotic Alliance, has not responded, prompting the SAHRC to pursue court action.
Gayton McKenzie denied the racism allegations, claiming the tweets were taken out of context and part of an anti-racist stance. “A full review of the context easily reveals that all the posts were non-racial in nature,” he told Reuters in August. He accused the SAHRC of defamation for releasing preliminary findings without a hearing. The minister, appointed in July 2024, also faces scrutiny for alleged xenophobic remarks. ActionSA, a political party, lodged a complaint with the SAHRC, with MP Alan Beesley stating, “No reasonable person can defend these comments as anything other than racist.” The Economic Freedom Fighters and African Transformation Movement also called for McKenzie’s removal from cabinet. Public reactions are mixed, with some social media users criticizing the focus on old tweets, while others demand accountability.
The controversy began after McKenzie condemned racist remarks against Coloured South Africans on the Open Chats Podcast, leading to the unearthing of his own posts. The SAHRC is also investigating other hate speech cases, including a racial incident at Knysna High School. Parliament’s Ethics Committee declined to probe McKenzie, as the tweets predate his time as an MP
