Gayton McKenzie Denies Claims Government Funded Arthur Mafokate and Chomee’s 2026 World Cup Song

• On Saturday, 23 May 2026, Gayton McKenzie addressed speculation surrounding Arthur Mafokate and Chomee’s viral song, Tjovitjo
• Many social media users believed the song had been officially commissioned as South Africa’s 2026 World Cup anthem
• Social media users disagreed with the minister of sport, arts and culture, while others questioned whether government spending on World Cup-related activities was being properly managed

Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, broke his silence and addressed speculation surrounding Arthur Mafokate and Chomee’s 2026 World Cup song, Tjovitjo. The song sparked a myriad of reactions on social media after its video went viral on Thursday, 22 May 2026.

Several South Africans claimed that the song was the country’s official World Cup song and that Arthur Mafokate and Chomee had been commissioned to work on the Bafana Bafana support anthem. On Saturday, 23 May 2026, Gayton McKenzie, as the steward of the department responsible for sport, arts and culture, broke his silence and set the record straight.

Read also

Musa Khawula explains week-long social media absence, Fans react: "At least you are not in prison"

Gayton McKenzie reacts to speculation regarding 2026 World Cup song

Taking to his official X (Twitter) account, McKenzie responded to social media user @tumisole, who implied that Arthur Mafokate and Chomee had been awarded a tender to produce a World Cup song for Bafana Bafana without following the proper procedures. McKenzie said his ministry did not commission Mafokate and Chomee to record the song. He gave the song a thumbs-up and said he hoped that it would reignite Chomee’s career. The post was captioned:

“This song was not paid for or commissioned by @SportArtsCultur, this is an artist making music, catchy song if you ask me. I’m happy for Chomee, I hope this is her comeback 🕺🏽🤛”

See the post below:

SA reacts after Gayton McKenzie breaks silence

In the comments, social media users disagreed with McKenzie regarding the song’s quality. Others

Here are some of the comments:

@Princymthombeni criticised:

“It’s a horrible AI production.”

@Nhlamulo_Right questioned:

Read also

Mixed reactions to Arthur and Chomee’s 2026 World Cup song “Tjovitjo”

“@GaytonMcK, how sure are you that it wasn't paid for by @SportArtsCultur, because we have been told this before, only to find out later that we were lied to 🤔🤷🏾‍♂️ Things do happen under a Minister's nose that they are not aware of, it's South Africa after all.”

@THendrix777 asked:

“While we have you. You and your team, travelling to the World Cup, are rumoured to be spending over R5m on that visit. Can you confirm or deny?”

@lavidaNOTA suggested:

“Minister, why aren’t more artists getting involved? Maybe some fanpark bookings ala 2010 would persuade them!”

@KkMkhathin60828 remarked:

“This tweet is going to form part of annexure 4 of your sworn affidavit in a few months.”

Shakira and Burna Boy’s FIFA anthem struggles on Spotify

Arthur Mafokate and Shakira aren't the only ones whose World Cup song was criticised.

Briefly News previously reported that Shakira and Burna Boy’s 2026 FIFA World Cup anthem suffered an immediate setback after its highly anticipated release.

The song entered the chart at a low number on its first day before disappearing completely by day two. Social media users quickly compared the track to Shakira’s iconic 2010 World Cup anthem Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).

Source: Briefly News