The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has initiated an investigation into Minister Gayton McKenzie over offensive posts on his X account and alleged xenophobic utterances.

The controversy stems from remarks made in a live video and social media posts dating back as far as 2011.

The Commission said it became aware of the resurfaced posts on August 9 2025, and has received multiple complaints from various political parties and individuals, prompting the commission to take action.

Following an initial assessment, the SAHRC believes that McKenzie’s utterances are “prima facie violations of the provisions of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (Equality Act), 2000”.

An allegation letter has been dispatched to McKenzie. The Commission stated that its next steps might include instituting proceedings in the relevant Equality Court, as per the SAHRC Act of 2013 and the Equality Act.

The SAHRC emphasised that the right to freedom of expression is not absolute, reminding the public that hate speech is explicitly prohibited by both the Equality Act and the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act, 2023.

The Commission reiterated that McKenzie’s conduct is expected to “conform to ethical standards that is becoming of a Minister and a member of Parliament”. The SAHRC also called on all citizens to uphold the Constitution’s fundamental principles, including human dignity, equality, and non-discrimination.

The outcry against McKenzie, who serves as the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, began with his use of a racial slur (the ‘K-word’) during a live video.

This incident occurred as he discussed actions taken by the Patriotic Alliance against the hosts of the “Open Chats Podcast,” who had themselves made disparaging and racist remarks about the coloured community. McKenzie had previously urged his party to take legal action against these podcasters, stating that if coloured people had made similar remarks about other races, it would have been front-page news.

Following the live video controversy, older social media posts by McKenzie, dating between 2011 and 2017, resurfaced. These tweets reportedly contained “apartheid-era racial slurs directed at black South Africans” and criticised the term ‘Black Diamond’ using racially charged language deemed “reprehensible”.

McKenzie has denied being a racist, claiming that the entire controversy is a “politically motivated campaign orchestrated by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and social media influencers”.

He stated: “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”.

While denying racist intent, McKenzie has admitted to posting “insensitive, stupid and hurtful” remarks a decade or two ago, acknowledging, “I was a troll [and] stupid. I cringe when seeing them and I am truly sorry for that”. He cited his background, stating, “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”.

McKenzie has stated his willingness to subject himself to an investigation, reiterating, “I can never be guilty of racism, try some other take down but never racism”. 

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