Parliament says it will not investigate Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzies past social media posts because he posted them before he was elected.
McKenzie, who leads the Patriotic Alliance PA, became a member of Parliament in June 2024.
Last week, controversial posts he made on the X social media platform between 2011 and 2014 resurfaced. He used the K-word severally in the posts, sparking outrage.
African Transformation Movement ATM MP Vuyo Zungula lodged a complaint with Parliaments Joint Committee on Ethics and Members Interests on 9 August. He requested an investigation on whether McKenzies posts constitute a breach of Parliaments code of conduct.
The tweets in question employ language steeped in historical racism, the same kind of degrading rhetoric used to strip black people of their humanity during the apartheid and colonial eras, he wrote in a letter to the Committee.
Parliament not investigating McKenzieParliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo confirmed on Tuesday 12 August that the Office of the Registrar had received Zungulas letter.
However, the alleged tweets by Minister McKenzie occurred prior to his becoming a Member of Parliament on 14 June 2024, he said.
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. Accordingly, no complaint has been opened by the Registrar. There is, therefore, no competent complaint before the Ethics Committee."
Meanwhile, McKenzie has continued to deny allegations that his posts were racist. On Tuesday, he reposted his past comments in which he spoke out against racism, adding that hes done explaining.
I can never be guilty of racism . Try some other take down but never racism, he also wrote on Monday.