Gayton McKenzie Reacts As Cyril Ramaphosa Hits Back Against Calls Within ANC To Step Down

• The president of the Patriotic Alliance (PA) and the Minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has spoken in defence of President Cyril Ramaphosa
• This was after Ramaphosa responded to calls within the African National Congress to step down as the president of the ANC
• Ramaphosa hit back against the faction, and McKenzie showed his support for Ramaphosa amidst calls to remove him from the party

Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News’ Deputy Head of Current Affairs, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, has covered policy changes, cabinet reshuffles, the State of the Nation Address, parliamentary proceedings, and politician-related news, as well as elections, at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News for over seven years.

JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG — The president of the Patriotic Alliance, Gayton McKenzie, has responded to calls for African National Congress (ANC) president Cyril Ramaphosa to step down from his role as the party's president. Ramaphosa also hit back at the calls for him to resign.

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According to BusinessTech, members of the ANC have called for Ramaposa to be removed as the party's president and the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) to be disbanded. This was after a letter circulated among party members in the Eastern Cape, one of its strongholds. The faction reportedly wants to replace the NEC with a national task team, which is headed by former President Thabo Mbeki.

Gayton McKenzie comments on ANC infighting

MDN News posted a video of McKenzie speaking about the infighting on its @MDNnewss X account. McKenzie reacted to statements Ramaphosa made when he challenged the alleged faction to provide him with a date to resign. He said that Ramaphosa stepping down would be a massive mistake.

"We've turned the corner in South Africa. The rand is so strong. In the third quarter, we created something like 300,000 jobs. So the GNU is really taking the country up now," he said.

Watch the X video here:

Ramaphosa

Ramaphosa hits back against allegations

According to SABC News, Ramaphosa spoke on 16 November 2025 in Germiston, Ekurhuleni. The ANC held an ordinary NEC meeting between 14 and 16 November. While delivering the direct political overview report, Ramaphosa called on his detractors not to discuss his exit like cowards. He said if the NEC asked him to resign, he would do it tomorrow.

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2 Briefly News stories about Gayton McKenzie

Gayton McKenzie recently demanded justice for victims of the Milnerton High School bullying incident. This was after a bullying incident went viral. The school suspended eight learners, and McKenzie said that the learners must be punished to learn a valuable lesson.

McKenzie Gayton, after the Patriotic Alliance experienced a fallout with Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero. Morero did not reinstate PA deputy preaiddny Kenny Kunene.

Gaytin McKenzie shows support for Gary Player statements

In a related article, Briefly News reported that McKenzie supported former golf legend Gary Player's statements on economic policies.

The player criticized land expropriation without compensation and called for the repeal of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act.

Source: Briefly News