Cape Town: Former South African pirate Gaiten MacKenzie has been appointed Minister of Sports and Culture by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s governing coalition, the Patriotic Alliance.
According to international media reports, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Gaiten MacKenzie, former chairman of the Patriotic Union, as Minister of Sports and Culture. “Thank you, Mr. President. There are many people here who do not want to see me and my party in the coalition government,” McKenzie said on Facebook Live when he heard he had been nominated.
Sports Minister Gaiten MacKenzie has a criminal history and several gang-related offenses in the past, according to reports. McKenzie was reportedly sentenced to seven years in prison for bank robbery at the age of 16. After his release, he vowed to reform and enter politics.
Back in 2013, MacKenzie co-founded the Patriotic Union and almost a decade later made a political breakthrough. After South Africa’s elections in 2024, in which the ruling party, the ANC, lost its majority, McKenzie had to form a coalition government with the Patriotic Union and other allies.
