Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie has issued a blistering seven-day ultimatum to the ANC, threatening to collapse coalition agreements across the country if his deputy, Kenny Kunene, is not reinstated as Johannesburg’s Transport MMC.
In a fiery Facebook Live address, the Sports Minister declared that the PA will not be disrespected and is prepared to abandon the ANC for a coalition with the Democratic Alliance (DA) in future elections. The threat puts immense pressure on Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero and the ANC, which relies on the PA’s support to govern in several municipalities.
“If that mayor of Joburg thinks he can tell us what to do, he’s playing. Kenny Kunene is going back… That man can’t tell us. Not us,” McKenzie stated, directly challenging Mayor Morero’s authority.
He laid down a clear timeline and consequence: “Within seven days, if Kunene is not back in his position, every PA member in JB Marks, every PA coalition with the ANC, you withdraw with immediate effect.” This would trigger a political crisis in municipalities where the ANC’s hold onto power is precarious without PA support.
In a significant shift that redefines the political landscape, McKenzie explicitly threatened a future alliance with the official opposition. “We will form a coalition with the DA if they are going to treat us like that as the ANC… We don’t have that thing of saying we will never work with the DA next year.”
This hardline stance extends to the national Government of National Unity (GNU). Speaking to eNCA, McKenzie confirmed the PA is initiating a withdrawal from local coalitions and will begin the formal process of leaving the GNU, stating, “We wanna be respected. We cannot be treated like that.”
The threat comes just days after McKenzie announced that a probe by law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr had exonerated Kunene of any wrongdoing related to his association with a businessman implicated in a murder case. McKenzie is now using that clearance as the basis for his high-stakes political power play, signaling that his party will no longer be a junior partner that can be sidelined.
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