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GANGS AND GOVERNANCE: Gayton McKenzie comes off as gangster’s proxy for sharing untested claims about JP Smith
🇿🇦 South Africa /Crime & Justice

GANGS AND GOVERNANCE: Gayton McKenzie comes off as gangster’s proxy for sharing untested claims about JP Smith

From Daily Maverick · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources Under investigation
  • South Africa’s Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie shared an unverified allegation that a 28s gang member claimed Cape Town official JP Smith once worked for Mark Lifman’s security company.
  • Smith dismissed the claim as a smear by a rival politician, while the allegation had not been independently investigated.
  • The commentary criticises a Cabinet minister for amplifying an accusation attributed to a gangster amid wider concerns about criminal infiltration of the state.

A Cabinet minister has given public reach to an allegation that came from a gangster, without first establishing whether it is true. Gayton McKenzie, South Africa’s Sport, Arts and Culture Minister and leader of the Patriotic Alliance, said in a social-media video that a member of the 28s gang had phoned him with a claim about Cape Town safety official JP Smith.

According to McKenzie, the caller said Smith had worked for Mark Lifman’s security company. Lifman, who faced a murder-conspiracy trial, was killed in a shooting in George in late 2024. His side of the story is therefore unavailable. Smith rejected McKenzie’s allegation as another attempt by a political rival to link him to organised crime.

McKenzie is shown speaking into a camera and saying, “A member of the 28 called me. I’m going to investigate it […]”. He then quotes the caller as saying, “Pres, my bru, JP Smith het gewerk vir Mark Lifman,” or, “Pres, my bru, JP Smith worked for Mark Lifman.” McKenzie adds that investigators were checking whether Smith had worked at Lifman’s “security company”, although he did not say when this allegedly happened.

A member of the 28 called me. I’m going to investigate it […]

— Gayton McKenzieMcKenzie described the alleged phone call from a member of the 28s gang.

The video does not appear to have been posted on McKenzie’s own social-media accounts. The central concern is not whether Smith should be defended or condemned, but whether a government minister should publicise an unchecked claim whose origin and credibility have not been established.

The episode comes as politicians’ names have surfaced at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, which is examining whether a criminal cartel has infiltrated the state. McKenzie has also faced an allegation from a convicted fraudster that he was connected to the cartel’s drugs operations, a claim he denied. His ministry is responsible for programmes that can help steer people away from gangsterism, making the article’s criticism of his handling of the allegation particularly pointed.

Pres, my bru, JP Smith worked for Mark Lifman.

— Gayton McKenzie, quoting an alleged callerThe quoted allegation claimed that Smith had worked for Lifman.
About this summary

Originally published by Daily Maverick. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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