Derek Hanekom Slams PA Leader Gayton McKenzie for Saying He Would Turn Off Foreign Nationals Oxygen Supply

• ANC stalwart Dereck Hanekom is not impressed with Central Karroo Mayor Gayton McKenzie's comments about turning off oxygen for foreigners
• McKenzie said it was his duty as a leader to prioritise South Africans over foreign nationals
• Hanekom questioned whether this is the type of behaviour that Apartheid activists were jailed and died for

CAPE TOWN - Derek Hanekom, former Tourism Minister and pillar of the African National Congress, criticised Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie for declaring that he would cut off oxygen to a foreigner to save a South African life.

McKenzie's remarks came amid a contentious discussion about the supposed burden foreigners put on the country's public healthcare system.

While speaking to eNCA, McKenzie said that it was his duty as a leader to prioritise a South African's life over a foreigner's life.

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McKenzie said:

“I am supposed to do that if there is a South African and Zimbabwean or Mozambican on oxygen, and here is an SA citizen, born and bred in SA. I will turn it off as a leader. Because that is my duty.”

Hanekom made his displeasure with McKenzie's comments clear in a tweet.

Hanekom asked:

“Is this what Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada and many others spent so many years in jail for? Is this what Chris Hani and Ruth First died for? What would Albert Luthuli and Oliver Tambo have said about this? Turn off the oxygen? Is this us?"

McKenzie received backlash for his comments but doubled down, saying that the Patriotic Alliance is not a party for people who sympathise with foreign nationals, legal or illegal TimesLIVE reports.

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McKenzie's latest comments add to a string of anti-immigrant rhetoric sparked by Limpopo Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba's claim that illegal immigrants are hijacking the South African public healthcare system.

South Africans weigh in on Gayton McKenzie's latest comments and Hanekom's criticism

South Africans have mixed reactions to McKenzie's remarks and Hanekom's disapproval.

Here are some comments:

@KRwairwai said:

"Yes, South Africans, first, I would turn off oxygen for a South African."

@Richard_Spoor commented:

"Populism really is the lowest common denominator. Its appeal continues to frustrate and depress me."

@MacShumba added:

"Ex-convict still got a gangster attitude."

Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie says he will switch a foreigners oxygen off to save a South African

In related news, Briefly News reported that Central Karoo District Mayor Gayton McKenzie has come under fire for his comments about saving South Africans over foreign nationals.

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Patriotic Alliance Leader Gayton McKenzie says he will switch a foreigner's oxygen off to save a South African

The Patriotic Alliance leader stated that he would much rather take oxygen supply from a foreigner to save the life of a South African. McKenzie made these eerie remarks during a television interview on Tuesday, 30 August.

McKenzie's comments come in the wake of Dr Phophi Ramathuba, MEC for Health in Limpopo's viral rant to a Zimbabwean patient awaiting surgery. Ramathuba berated the patient and stated that her department does not have the funds to accommodate foreigners in the public health sector.

Source: Briefly News