McKenzie dismisses Jermaine Prim allegations as ‘categorically false’
· Citizen
It is proving to be a testing time for Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie as allegations against him pile up.
Just last week, ActionSA MP Dereleen James filed criminal charges against McKenzie, accusing him of threatening her during a Facebook Live broadcast.
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This after a letter presented before parliament’s ad hoc committee linked McKenzie to drug cartels.
The PA leader has denied both allegations.
On Saturday, eNCA shared a video clip on social media of a telephonic interview with Johannesburg Correctional Centre inmate Jermaine Prim.
Prim claims to have met McKenzie through a mutual friend in 2012, and again in 2020 following the death of 16-year-old Nathaniel Julies, who was shot dead by police.
ALSO READ: ActionSA’s Dereleen James to lay charges against McKenzie
He further claims McKenzie asked him to work on a social media campaign to help the PA win a by-election in Riverlea. He said he also “invested a bit” in the campaign.
Prim further claimed McKenzie owed him “quite a bit of money”, which led to their fallout.
The PA leader also sent him two phones in prison.
McKenzie denies allegations
However, McKenzie has denied the allegations, saying he has never met Prim in person.
“The true nature of the contact between Prim and the president of the Patriotic Alliance, Gayton McKenzie, is far less interesting. Prim himself reached out to president McKenzie in 2020, from prison, as part of his broader pattern,” explained the PA on Sunday.
“At first, president McKenzie had no knowledge that he was communicating with a convicted inmate. He was deliberately misled into believing he was engaging with an ordinary member of the public who presented himself as willing to volunteer time, assist with marketing efforts, and contribute to the growth of the Patriotic Alliance.
“It was only later that it became apparent that this interaction formed part of Prim’s wider pattern of impersonation, manipulation and deception. President McKenzie has made it unequivocally clear that he has never met Prim in person.”
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The party further questioned the circumstances under which the interview was conducted, describing them as “extremely alarming”.
“It raises serious questions about how such access was obtained, whether it was authorised, and whether correctional regulations have been breached. It is extraordinary that a convicted inmate is able to conduct an unsupervised media interview while making serious criminal allegations against other people, without any evidence at all.”
McKenzie said he will be taking legal action against the media house, the commissioner of correctional services and Minister of Correctional Services.
“This is dirty politics at play. With the tremendous success of our party, and my work as a minister, we fully expected these kinds of campaigns ahead of a very important election,” he said.
Meanwhile, Correctional Services has launched an investigation into the interview.