By Lesedi Sibiya-Diplomatic Insider
Herman Mashaba, Leader of ActionSA party, has expressed that they intend to lay charges against the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton Mckenzie regarding the remarks he made about Member of Parliament, Dereleen James, in a Facebook live post.
“Let Derleen and Kurt have a good time with my name. A very good time. Let them have a good time with my name. It’s okay. The path is long. I am 24/7 with security. Outside my house now, there’s security. So I want to put it out here. I know who’s behind Kurt. It’s fine. Enjoy my name. Do what you want to do. Alright.” said Mckenzie on Facebook live.
Mashaba first noted that he was shocked at how Mckenzie seemed to be boasting about his security that is funded by taxpayer money. In the live Mckenzie also said that James should “watch herself”.
“ I found this actually deeply worrying and concerning…these issues are not emanating from street corners. They emanate from parliament” said Mashaba in an interview with Newzroom.
The reason for the dispute is due to an issue that James raised in parliament regarding Mckenzie’s extravagant and frequent international travels as well as his inability to account for these regular travels.
Upon Mckenzie failing to account for his expenses, the MP had criticised the minister’s response stating that he presented a “bloated travaloque masquerading as a clear answer”.
James also questioned the KwaZulu Natal Police Commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkwanazi, and probed whether the Deputy President of the Patriotic Alliance, Kenny Kunene, had visited alleged crime lord Katiso “KT” Molefe on the day of an arrest.
Mashaba labeled the remarks from Mckenzie as intimidation and has stated that the party will refuse to accept.
“I cannot accept-we cannot accept, as ActionSA, that anyone would use a threat. We come from a very difficult past, where some of us still don’t know what happened to our families under the apartheid regime. Now 24 years into a democratic dispensation, some of us are amongst the biggest taxpayers in this country” said Mashaba.
James also took to social media to address these remarks by Mckenzie and views it threatening from the Minister.
“All this because you delayed on responding to ActionSA’s parliamentary question on your travel expenses? All this because I questioned Kenny’s presence at Molefe’s house” said James on social media.
“If this isn’t thuggish behaviour coming from a whole minister, then I don’t know what is” James further wrote. “Dear Derleen, I don’t threaten ladies, I said I have full time security with me and when would I have time to sell drugs?” Mckenzie wrote in a now deleted post.