South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts, and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has launched a fierce counter-attack against the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), accusing the statutory body of defamation. The dramatic escalation follows the SAHRC’s announcement that it would investigate the minister for possible racist sentiments.
Root of the Controversy: Resurfaced Social Media Posts
The firestorm ignited when historical posts from Minister McKenzie’s social media history, which allegedly contained a deeply offensive racial epithet, recently recirculated on the platform X (formerly Twitter). The emergence of these posts triggered immediate condemnation from political opponents and the public, prompting the human rights watchdog to initiate a formal inquiry.
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The Commission released an initial assessment, stating the old posts appeared to be “prima facie violations” of national laws against unfair discrimination. As part of its process, the SAHRC publicly advised the Minister to remove the contentious content, issue a formal public apology, and complete a course in sensitivity training.
Gayton McKenzie Accuses SAHRC of defamation
In a strongly worded rebuttal, Minister McKenzie condemned the Commission’s approach, labelling it a “kangaroo court” process. He asserted that the public statement constituted defamation because it was issued before he was formally contacted or given any right of reply, effectively trying and sentencing him in the court of public opinion without due process.
McKenzie argued that a proper contextual investigation would reveal his comments were not made with malicious intent to “harm, incite, or promote hatred.” While expressing a willingness to remove the posts to prevent public misunderstanding, he stands firm against the allegations of racism, stating the ordeal has caused him profound and unwarranted personal and professional embarrassment.