ActionSA MP Dereleen James has opened a case of intimidation against Minister Gayton McKenzie, at the Cape Town Central Poilce Station, following a series of intimidation tactics and threats issued arising from the ad hoc committee into alleged links between leaders of the PA AND alleged big 5 cartel member Katiso Molefe.
Image: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Media
ActionSA MP Dereleen James has opened a case of intimidation against the Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie following a series of alleged intimidation tactics and threats against her.
This comes after McKenzie commented during a Facebook Live broadcast on Sunday, saying, “Let Dereleen 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.
''Die pad is lank. The road 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. All right.”
Speaking outside the Cape Town Central police station, James said she felt exposed and threatened by the minister’s remarks.
“I feel intimidated. No one can dispute my reality when a minister takes to social media platforms and says I have security; it tells the entire world that he has security, exposing me,” she said.
James said the comments came amid her work investigating allegations involving McKenzie and his deputy president, linked to drug cartels.
''He knows that we have proven allegations against him and his deputy president at the homes of drug cartels.''
“I am meant to probe that. I am not sure why people think that because we are coloured, we should not hold each other accountable. No one can intimidate me. I have had enough,” James said.
James described the intimidation as clear and evident, explaining that members of the Patriotic Alliance have been allegedly linked to drug cartels in the Western Cape.
She cited newspaper reports dating back to 2013 and pointed to individuals now serving on the Joshlin Smith Foundation as allegedly connected to “drug kingpins,'' she said.
''We're not saying it's true, but we're saying we are going to probe those allegations,'' James said.
She also addressed her expectations of President Cyril Ramaphosa, expressing scepticism about national intervention.
“I don't expect anything from President Ramaphosa. I think it would be very naive of me at this point to say I expect something from the President.
She said he had previously had opportunities to act against the Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, when he was embroiled in all of this.
“The President came back in his responses just the other day, telling us that the minister did not meet with him, meaning that the minister lied.
''That person remains as part of his cabinet. The President has had ample opportunities to act against General Shadrack Sibiya, who is in partnership with all of these cartels. So why today would I expect anything from the President?”
James said, adding that this was why members of Parliament and ordinary South Africans must act when facing threats and intimidation tactics.
The Patriotic Alliance has lodged a formal complaint against James with Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests.
According to PA spokesperson Steve Motale, the complaint, submitted by McKenzie, argues that James mischaracterised his remarks and created a false narrative of threat and intimidation.
Motale said McKenzie’s comments, including references to his security detail and the phrase “the road is long,” were intended to highlight the implausibility of the allegations against him, not to threaten James.
Motale also noted that McKenzie had publicly stated: “I will defend all women. But the women of PA look up to me. I will never threaten any woman.”
The complaint further questions James’s credibility, pointing to interactions at Parliament that appeared cordial and inconsistent with someone claiming to feel under threat.
PA said the matter should be resolved by the Ethics Committee, while the party continues its work in government.
McKenzie denies that his remarks were intended as a threat and maintains they were taken out of context.
IOL Politics