Cape Town – Patriotic Alliance leader and Minister of Sport, Arts, Recreation and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has agreed to meet with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) after facing backlash over resurfaced social media posts in which he used the K-word.
The SAHRC said on Friday that there was enough evidence to take the matter further and may refer it to the Equality Court.
“The commission has sent an allegation letter to Minister McKenzie. Thereafter, the commission will determine the best way forward, which may include instituting proceedings in the relevant Equality Court,” said the SAHRC.
Media Statement: South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) on the ‘k- word’ posts and alleged xenophobic utterances by Minister Gayton McKenzie pic.twitter.com/Kxmt3aIfAw
— SAHRCommission (@SAHRCommission) August 15, 2025
McKenzie defended himself, claiming he was not the author of many of the offensive tweets, while his party said they would clarify this with the commission.
According to The Citizen, Patriotic Alliance spokesperson Steve Motale confirmed to The Citizen that McKenzie plans to engage with the SAHRC.
“We intend to take the SAHRC up on their offer of a meeting because there are numerous issues that we need to clarify to them, such as the fact that he was not even the author of many of the offensive tweets, which can easily be proven,” the report quoted Motale as saying.
“After these points are clarified, we will have a better idea of what the way forward should be.”
The controversy was referred to the SAHRC by ActionSA, while other political leaders have called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to discipline McKenzie.
The SAHRC reminded the public that freedom of expression has limits and that hate speech is prohibited under South African law.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
