Gayton McKenzie, leader of the Patriotic Alliance (PA), has come under fire for saying that the coloured community in South Africa experiences the worst racism in all facets of life.
McKenzie expressed his sentiments on social media after speaking at the funeral service of Pastor Dwayne Gordon, who was shot dead last week while preaching as a guest pastor at the Eagles Christian Centre in Newlands, Joburg.
McKenzie stated that he despises racism and gave an example of the problems that coloured people face.
“Coloured people woke up in the new South Africa and found legislation that makes it clear that they are not Africans. A clear racist separation by the ANC government. How do you even explain that because coloureds and blacks fought side by side in the struggle for freedom?
“I hate racism. Coloured people are subjected to the worst racism in all areas of South African lives. I am glad that it makes you uncomfortable. Do you know that coloured wardens had to approach the courts for them to be considered for promotion at work?” he said on X.
His comments have since sparked controversy, with many suggesting that he should address the matter in an appropriate manner that will also include other oppressed groups in South Africa.
Political analyst Mzoxolo Mpolase told The Star yesterday that McKenzie’s comments were all part of a political smear campaign that was only serving to further divide South Africa’s multi-ethnic and diverse culture.
“Gayton McKenzie’s comments are nothing but cheap political campaigning. We are, after all, entering silly election season in the run-up to the 2024 national and provincial elections, where every political party will jostle for both their current and desired constituency or voter base.
“And unfortunately, during such a season, the order of the day seems to be that the more extreme a view, the grander the election promise, the more likely one will appeal to the voting public and draw national headlines.”
Mpolase further criticised using the funerals of the deceased award-winning celebrities Mampintsha and AKA, highlighting that he missed the mark.
“While it is true that there are burning issues affecting the South African coloured community that need political representation (as with any other community in South Africa), those involving the funerals of both AKA and Mampintsha are certainly not one of them.
“McKenzie missed the mark on this one and could have chosen an issue that is more grounded in reality and fact and not imagined dichotomies and fissures that only exist in his mind and cause nothing but unnecessary divisions in South Africa’s diverse and multi-ethnic society,” said Mpolase
Dr Metji Makgoba, an independent political analyst, also weighed in on the comments, revealing that the statements made were sensational.
“I think that it is a very sensational statement because all black South African surfers have exploitative racism. And to isolate it from coloured people's work is a misunderstanding of the work of racism.
“I think black people and black Africans collectively suffered racism, and if you are in Cape Town, that statement would be true: in Cape Town, coloured people would occupy the bottom level of the hierarchy of racism.
“But politically, the oppression is more or less the same. Coloureds, blacks, and Indians are all subjects of racism in South Africa. And I think McKenzie should be thinking about whether we should unite all these groups to collectively think about their lights. However, he is not doing that. Instead, he has chosen to entrench the all-existing divisions between Africans and coloured people.
“I think he has a point there, but it's historical as well because coloured people do embrace the coloured identity. And he wants to open a conversation about whether people who are coloured should be Africans or classified as Africans; he must come up with that conversation. I think the categorization of race in South Africa is actually racist itself.
He further suggested that coloured people must have this conversation among themselves about whether they want to be classified as Africans or as coloured.
“But I think they themselves can have those determinations. But as for government, This government has made a lot of mistakes, especially with this race categorization,” said Makgoba.