EFF MP Sihle Lonzi and Minister Gayton McKenzie Roast Each Other in X Twar

• Economic Freedom Fighters Member of Parliament Sihle Lonzi and Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie had a go at each other
• Lonzi accused McKenzie's party, the Patriotic Alliance, of not introducing a single bill or proposing legislation to combat illegal foreign nationals
• McKenzie hit back and called Lonzi Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi from Temu, and Lonzi called him out for missing Parliament meetings

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, has covered policy changes, cabinet reshuffles, the State of the Nation Address, Parliament and Parliamentary committees, politician-related news, and elections at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News for over seven years.

JOHANNESBURG — The Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Sihle Lonzi got into an online spat in which McKenzie labelled Lonzi the Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi from Temu, and Lonzi accused McKenzie's Patriotic Alliance (PA) of not doing anything about the illegal foreigners in the country.

Why did Lonzi and McKenzie twar?

Lonzi fired the first shot on his @SihleLonzi X account on 5 June when he said the PA did not care about illegal foreigners. He also accused McKenzie of enjoying the benefits of blue lights, referring to the security detail accompanying ministers.

"He has never proposed a single legislation on the subject, not even a Private Member's Bill as an MP," he said.

View the X tweet here:

McKenzie hit back

McKenzie responded to him in a short but witty tweet on his @GaytonMcK X account.

"Uthini wena Temu Ndlozi? Start by telling us: do you even care?"

Read the X tweet here:

Lonzi fired back at McKenzie and called him an illiterate minister who could not put a single sentence together. He also said McKenzie, who was recently slammed for his poor Parliament committee meeting attendance record, to stop avoiding his parliamentary duty.

Read his X tweet here:

What are Lonzi and McKenzie talking about?

Lonzi's jab about the PA not caring about illegal foreigners in the country refers to the party's campaign message before the 2024 general elections. McKenzie called for the deportation of illegal foreigners.

The party's stance on immigration was reflected in his constant use of the word "Abahambe," which means "they must go" about illegal immigrants. Former president Thabo Mbeki accused him of weaponising Afrophobia by his calls for illegal immigrants to be deported.

The EFF's immigration stance also came under fire during the campaign season when the party's president Julius Malema's Pan-African approach. The EFF received 9% of the votes during the elections, and netizens speculated that the drop was because of the prty's stance on immigration,l with some calling on him to rethink the party's open-border policy.

Sihle Lonzi kicked out of Parliament

In a related article, Briefly News reported that Lonzi was kicked out of Parliament recently after a heated exchange during a Parliamentary meeting. The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, of which he is a member, met with the Department of Higher Education.

Lonzi asked the Director General, Dr Nkosinathi Sishi, if he was aware that Higher Education Minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane had employed Mining and Minerals Minister Gwede Mantashe's son, Buyambe Mantashe, as the Chairperson of the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority. Committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie ordered him to be quiet, and when Lonzi continued his line of questioning, he called security to remove him.

Source: Briefly News