'No place in SA'– Steenhuisen condemns McKenzie’s K-word remarks

DA Leader John Steenhuisen weighed in on Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie’s controversy over the use of the k-word, saying that there’s an extra duty of care on leaders in society to be careful about what they say and how they say it.

Speaking in Johannesburg on Monday, Steenhuisen said language like McKenzie’s has “no place in South Africa” - just as the controversial chant “Kill the Boer” by EFF leader Julius Malema does not.

“So let me just say, I don’t think that language has any place in South Africa. Just as singing ‘Kill the Boer’ has no place in South Africa,” Steenhuisen said.

“I don’t believe that those epithets or words belong in South Africa. I think there’s an extra duty of care on leaders in society to be careful about what they say and how they say it, and to ensure that we don’t divide people and that we don’t use these racial epithets.”

He called for consistency in how all political parties respond to racism, regardless of who is involved.

“We have had a number of instances in our party where individuals have said things that we felt were not correct, and we’ve taken action against them. They’ve been removed from public office, and we’ve dealt with them. I think there needs to be consistency.

“It cannot be all right for one person to say something just because they have a certain skin colour, but it’s not right for another person to say something. We need to be consistent in this.

“These terms are hurtful, hateful, and have no place in democratic discourse,” he added. “We have enough opportunities in Parliament to discuss where we’re going as a country and what we need to do. I don’t think we need to use social media or offensive and hurtful words. There must be consistency. When one party or person is called out, that consistency needs to carry across the board.”

Last year in September the DA terminated Renaldo Gouws’ party membership in September last year following a unanimous decision by its Federal Executive following an exposé by IOL News.

DA national spokesperson Willie Aucamp confirmed that Gouws was formally notified and has forfeited his parliamentary seat.

The move followed an internal investigation by the Federal Legal Commission, which found Gouws guilty of breaching several sections of the party’s constitution.

Gouws faced backlash after sharing a now-deleted video on social media, in which he used highly offensive and racist language, prompting widespread condemnation.

IOL News broke the story on how Gouws shared a now deleted video on social media where he could be heard saying: “Alright so there’s a couple of things I want to say. Kill the f**ing k*****s, kill all the f***ing n*ggers. That’s all I gotta f***ing say.”

Meanwhile, McKenzie has faced mounting backlash after using the K-word - a known racial slur, during a live video in which he responded to racist remarks made by the hosts of the Open Chats podcast. 

The controversy intensified when older tweets from 2011 and 2013 resurfaced, containing apartheid-era slurs directed at black South Africans, as well as derogatory references to the term “Black Diamond.”

The African Transformation Movement (ATM) filed formal complaints with the Presidency, Parliament, and the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests. ATM parliamentary leader Vuyo Zungula described McKenzie’s remarks as “racially derogatory slurs” that undermine democratic principles.

Zungula said the tweets “employ language steeped in historical racism - the same kind of degrading rhetoric used to strip black people of their humanity during apartheid and colonial eras.” 

The ATM has demanded an urgent investigation and called for McKenzie’s removal, arguing that an “unrepentant minister cannot credibly lead a department tasked with building cultural bridges and fostering unity.”

ActionSA has also filed a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and warned the matter may be escalated to the Equality Court under the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act.

ActionSA MP Alan Beesley said: “We are confronting racism in all its forms by holding a sitting Cabinet minister accountable for comments that no reasonable person can defend as anything other than racist and demeaning.”

McKenzie has denied being racist, claiming the backlash was a politically motivated campaign orchestrated by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and social media influencers.

While admitting to the offensive language, he said the posts were written in response to racist remarks made by others and expressed embarrassment over them.

“This whole campaign to find something racist I ever said is hilarious because you have now gone 13 years back and can’t bring out one racist thing I ever said,” he said.

He has since agreed to submit himself to an investigation and acknowledged tweeting “some insensitive, stupid and hurtful things a decade or two ago”.

“I was a troll (and) stupid. I cringe when seeing them and I am truly sorry for that,” McKenzie said. He stopped short of issuing a formal apology but insisted he had no racist intent.

“My mother was black and I have children with a black woman. I fought my whole life for the same treatment between black and coloured people because we fought the same struggle,” he added.

The EFF has joined ATM and ActionSA in calling for McKenzie’s immediate removal, while the MK Party has also criticised him for his conduct.

“He is out of his depth and is always out of his depth - there’s nothing new here,” said MK Party national spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela.

“We are calling for the need to tolerate each other in society, but we cannot tolerate racial slurs and remarks, and we call upon the youth to exercise caution and not make remarks that bring division.”

He further slammed McKenzie as “totally irresponsible.”

“Such behaviour is not of the calibre of a minister. He needs to remember that he’s no longer what he used to be (a former criminal and convict) and he’s now supposed to behave like a leader,” he told IOL News.

simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za

IOL Politics