Parliament says comments made by sports minister Gayton McKenzie on X formerly Twitter between 2013 and 2017, in which he used the K-word multiple times, cannot be brought before its ethics committee because he was not an MP at the time.
Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said parliament received a letter from the African Transformation Movement ATM on Sunday, complaining about the tweets.
However, the alleged tweets by minister McKenzie occurred prior to his becoming a member of parliament on 14 June 2024. In terms of Item 42a of the code, read with Item 43f, conduct committed before a person becomes an MP does not fall within the scope of the code, said Mothapo.
Accordingly, no complaint has been opened by the registrar, and both parties were informed of this in writing earlier today. There is, therefore, no competent complaint before the ethics committee.
The ATM filed a complaint against McKenzie, accusing him of making racist comments towards black South Africans and demanded an immediate investigation and his dismissal.