From a bank robber to inmate to businessman to South African minister

Gayton McKenzie, Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture and president of the Patriotic Alliance (PA), has gone from a teenage criminal to a millionaire businessman and now a cabinet minister under President Cyril Ramaphosa.

As Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, McKenzie moves in elite circles, rubbing shoulders with everyone from heads of states to celebrities and top athletes.

But he has made it clear this is just the beginning. In a May 2025 interview with The Africa Report, he openly declared his presidential ambitions.

Though now wealthy, thanks to a career in motivational speaking, consulting, and business, McKenzie’s background is rooted in poverty and crime.

His rise in politics and public life has been rapid, controversial, and closely watched.

In a series of social media posts about his life, McKenzie said he joined the gangs at age 13 as an ice boy. “I grew up poor, and I tried my hand doing crime to become rich.”

By the age of 15, he had become a soldier in the gang, and at 16, he started his own gang. “My life consisted of going in and out of jail,” he said.

“I soon became a wanted person by various divisions of the police. I was arrested at age 21 finally.”

He appeared in court and was sentenced to 17 years at Grootvlei Maximum prison. “I was over the moon because I am now being certified,” he said.

“Going to jail or killing someone in the gangster world means you have made your bones. It’s like a badge of honour. Going to jail was my badge of honour,” he said.

In prison, he continued his life of crime and gangsterism. He joined the prison number gangs and rose in the ranks till he eventually got to the top. “Nothing happened in that prison without my say so.”

“My mother kept praying for a changed son. She visited me every weekend for 10 years without fail.”

McKenzie said that the influence brought by fellow inmate and now best friend and political partner Kenny Kunene, as well as a horrific rape ordeal by a young prisoner, was vital in turning his life around.

“I picked this boy up and walked to the warden telling them that he has been raped by 18 men, they told me that there is no proof, I was very angry and I told them that I am going to give them all the proof in the world.”

McKenzie said that with the help of his family, he managed to expose criminal elements in prison.

“I called my mom and told her that I am changing my life, I told them I needed a book on how to operate a secret video camera. I took the money I made selling drugs and brought a video camera for us inside.”

He secretly taped and exposed corruption and abuse taking place at the prison, which led to an official investigation.

After a decade in prison, he was released. His early release was tied to his exposure of corruption within the South African prison system.

“I lost my way at a young age, I saw the inside of a cell before I saw the inside of a matric exam hall. I literally grew up in jail where I spent my whole twenties,” added McKenzie.

Life after prison

After leaving prison, McKenzie got a job at Chubb Security, which paid R1,000 per month. Within four years, he earned R80,000 per month and played a big role in the company’s operations.

He left Chubb Security to briefly join Nike. He then moved into mining and started a business selling fish which exclusively hired ex-prisoners.

At its peak, he had thousands of ex-prisoners working for him throughout the country and became a millionaire.

“I started nightclubs, soon sold those and invested in mining, and I also started a publishing company,” he said.

McKenzie then established the first black-owned mining consultancy firm, employing the old boys in one of South Africa’s biggest industries.

This consulting firm struck it big with numerous deals. One of these was with Goldfields, one of the world’s largest gold mining companies, which was one of his clients.

“I became a dollar millionaire and became very flashy,” McKenzie said. However, fate struck which changed his life.

“I got involved in a severe car accident in one of my sports cars, and I wasn’t supposed to have survived that accident,” he said.

“I survived, which restored my faith in God, and it changed my whole outlook on life. I became a full-time dad and had new dreams,” he said.

“I had an encounter with God and my life was never the same again. Upon release I traveled to most schools and drug rehab centers around South Africa and the world to warn our children against drugs and crime.”

Then, he joined politics. “OnsBaizaNie was the joke on social media after every election result. However, I didn’t give up,” he said.

“I had to find new members after every election because people would leave us after our loss at the polls. I kept going and going.”

His party, the Patriotic Alliance (PA) showed good growth and became the kingmaker in many municipalities across the country.

“Today, the Patriotic Alliance is represented in local, provincial, and national government, and we are a force to be reckoned with,” he said.

It made its Parliamentary debut after the 2024 elections, sporting nine seats from its 2.06% vote share.

It continues to gain traction across the country, winning ward by-elections off both the ANC and DA.

On 3 July 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Gayton McKenzie as South Africa’s Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture in the Government of National Unity (GNU).

Gayton McKenzie as Sports Minister