Gayton McKenzie Faces Backlash After Helen Zille 'Graveyard' Comment Sparks Outrage

• Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie posted a pointed comment about Helen Zille on X on 13 August 2026
• McKenzie was responding to a report that the DA has surged 24 percent ahead of the ANC in Johannesburg
• South Africans online hit back at McKenzie, calling the remark disrespectful and unbecoming of a minister

SOUTH AFRICA - Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie sparked online outrage on 13 August 2026 after posting a thinly veiled jab at Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille's age on X.

The comment came in response to a News24 opinion piece reporting that the DA's Johannesburg mayoral candidate was "two steps closer" to the city's mayorship. The article noted that the DA had surged 24 percent ahead of the ANC in Johannesburg ahead of the November 2026 local government elections. McKenzie, whose party is a coalition partner in the national government alongside both the DA and the ANC, appeared to use the opportunity to take aim at Zille, who is 71 years old.

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McKenzie retweeted with the comment:

"She is one step closer to the graveyard at this age."

See post here:

McKenzie's post angers South Africans

The remark drew swift backlash from ordinary South Africans, many of whom argued that a sitting minister should be held to a higher standard of public conduct, regardless of political differences.

@ZKD79490700 wrote:

"Oh wow. That's really classy coming from a Minister."

@PaarlSeOgies said:

"So apparently Gayton McKenzie believes the president Cyril Ramaphosa is too old to lead the country by this post."

@MakhosiSthembi added:

"This is how we know we don't have politicians in this country."

@IceManSA108 said:

"What a super intelligent and sensitive comment. Politics aside, at least have the decency to treat Helen Zille with the respect as a woman, a senior citizen, and a leader she is."

@YVaw123 shifted focus to the bigger picture, writing:

"I have to be realistic. JHB is gone. I can't see any scenario that ANC wins unless they go back in time."

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The post drew attention not only because of its tone but because of who posted it. McKenzie serves as a minister in the Government of National Unity, which includes the DA, the ANC and the PA. Critics pointed out that mocking a coalition partner's candidate in public sits uneasily with that arrangement.

McKenzie accuses Zille of bullying

Mckenzie and Zille have had a historically contentious relationship. Briefly News previously reported that Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie says the party has been a victim of the Democratic Alliance's (DA) vindictiveness. Addressing the recent comments made by DA's Federal Chairperson Helen Zille regarding the inclusion of the PA in the emerging Government of National Unity (GNU). McKenzie criticized Zille for her apparent expectation that the ANC should have consulted the DA before inviting the PA and other parties to join the GNU.

Source: Briefly News