“All lies”: Patriotic Alliance pushes back against claims linking Gayton McKenzie to drugs

In South African politics, controversy travels fast, but so do denials.

This week, the Patriotic Alliance has come out swinging, rejecting allegations that its leader, Gayton McKenzie, is linked to drug cartels. The claims surfaced during tense proceedings in Parliament, adding another layer of drama to an already heated inquiry.

Where the allegations started

The controversy traces back to testimony linked to Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, whose earlier claims prompted the formation of an Ad Hoc Committee in Parliament.

During the latest round of hearings, David Skosana raised questions about a letter written by an incarcerated man, Jermaine Prim. According to the contents discussed, Prim alleged he had conversations in prison with businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and claimed to possess a voice recording that could link McKenzie to drug money.

But there’s a catch.

Mkhwanazi himself acknowledged that the letter amounts to hearsay evidence, unverified and not yet fully made public.

#AdHocCommittee: Mkhwanazi has presented an eight-page letter to the Committee from convicted fraudster Jermaine Prim.

*Prim earlier applied to testify before the Committee but was dismissed due to time constraints.

Mkhwanazi was alerted to the letter by his relative who said… https://t.co/YxzK1SwqWS pic.twitter.com/FtzWe03JP6

Kaya News (@KayaNews) March 18, 2026

PA leadership responds: “We’re not involved in drugs”

By Friday, the party had had enough.

Kenny Kunene dismissed the claims outright, calling them fabrications from someone he described as a disgruntled inmate seeking attention.

Kunene insisted neither he nor McKenzie has any involvement in drug activity, adding that they have never had direct dealings with Prim.

He also pushed back on the credibility of the allegations, questioning whether the supposed prison conversations ever took place at all.

A deeper backstory emerges

In a twist that feels uniquely local, part politics, part personal history, Kunene offered additional context.

He claimed that during the 2019 by-elections, Prim’s mother had been involved in cooking for party volunteers. According to Kunene, she was later removed after concerns about missing food supplies.

Since then, he says, Prim has allegedly targeted the party and its leaders with insults and accusations, even from behind bars.

Claims of threats and prison communication

The situation escalates further.

Kunene alleges that Prim has been sending WhatsApp messages from prison, making threats and spreading claims about party members. He says the matter was reported to authorities, who later moved Prim from one facility to another after a cellphone was allegedly found in his possession.

For the PA, this is central to their argument: that the allegations are not just false, but part of a pattern.

Parliament’s clock is ticking

All of this is unfolding under the watch of Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee, which is tasked with reviewing the broader allegations raised by Mkhwanazi.

The committee, chaired by Soviet Lekganyane, is expected to wrap up its work and present findings to the National Assembly by the end of March.

Until then, more testimony and possibly more surprises, could still emerge.

Public reaction: scepticism, support, and plenty of debate

Online, the story has sparked a familiar split.

Some South Africans are treating the claims with caution, pointing to the lack of verified evidence. Others are calling for full transparency, arguing that public officials should be held to the highest standard regardless of the source.

And then there are those who see it as just another episode in the country’s long-running political theatre, where accusations, denials, and counterclaims often play out in real time.

At its core, this story isn’t just about one allegation.

It’s about credibility of witnesses, of politicians, and of the systems meant to hold them accountable. In a country where trust in institutions is often tested, cases like this tend to linger long after the headlines fade.

For now, the Patriotic Alliance is standing firm: the claims are false, the source is unreliable, and the truth, they say , will come out.

Whether that holds once the committee delivers its final report is a question South Africans will be watching closely.