The Patriotic Alliance has filed an ethics complaint against ActionSA MP Dereleen James, accusing her of misrepresenting Gayton McKenzie’s remarks and breaching Parliament’s Code of Ethical Conduct.
Image: Henk Kruger / Independent Newspapers
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has lodged a formal complaint with Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests against ActionSA MP Dereleen James, accusing her of breaching provisions of the Code of Ethical Conduct.
According to the party’s spokesperson, Steve Motale, the complaint, submitted by PA president Gayton McKenzie, is not based on political disagreement but on what he described as “a pattern of conduct which, on any fair reading, falls below the standards required of Members of Parliament”.
Motale said McKenzie’s submission outlines alleged breaches of multiple provisions of the Code of Ethical Conduct, including requirements for MPs to act in accordance with the public trust, prioritise the public interest, maintain public confidence in Parliament, and avoid using derogatory language or bringing Parliament into disrepute on social media.
At the centre of the complaint, Motale said, is James’s alleged mischaracterisation of remarks made by McKenzie during a public Facebook Live engagement.
He explained that McKenzie’s use of the phrase “the road is long” was a commonly understood idiomatic expression, referring to how time reveals the truth and that short-term outcomes do not determine long-term results.
He rejected any suggestion that the remarks constituted a threat, stating: “It was not.”
Motale further addressed references made by McKenzie to his security detail during the same engagement, saying these had been misrepresented.
He said McKenzie did not mention his security detail as a warning, as a suggestion that James should fear for her safety, or as any form of implied threat, but rather to demonstrate what he described as the “practical impossibility of the allegations being made against him”.
He added that McKenzie, who is accompanied by members of the South African Police Service VIP Protection Unit, had made the point that for the allegations to be true, those officers would have to be either unaware of, or complicit in, the alleged crimes — something he said was not credible.
Motale accused James of stripping this explanation of its context and repackaging it into a narrative of “threat” and “intimidation”, adding that McKenzie had made it clear he would deal with the matter “politically”.
He also referenced remarks made by McKenzie during the same Facebook Live, where he said, “I will defend all women. But the women of PA look up to me. I will never threaten any woman.”
Motale said any attempt to interpret these remarks as threatening was “nothing short of absurd”.
The complaint further records that James gave public credence to allegations made by Jermaine Prim. Motale described Prim as a sentenced prisoner found guilty of fraud and theft who continues to face additional charges, adding that his claims are unsupported by evidence and have been repeatedly denied.
He said this matter is separate from a dispute over McKenzie’s ministerial travel costs, which he claimed had also been misrepresented by James and her party, ActionSA.
According to Motale, a full breakdown of the costs was submitted to Parliament in an annexure, but was not initially transmitted due to a clerical error, which Parliament later acknowledged and corrected.
Despite this, he said, the claim that the minister “hid” costs has not been withdrawn.
The complaint also raises concerns about James’s credibility. Motale alleged that she had recently approached McKenzie at Parliament, requested a photograph, and interacted with him in a cordial manner, which he said was inconsistent with the conduct of someone who genuinely believed they were under threat.
“This is not a misunderstanding. It is a pattern: Ms James removes context, ignores corrected facts, and escalates public rhetoric,” Motale said.
He added that Parliament’s Ethics Committee now has the responsibility to determine whether such conduct meets the standard expected of a Member of Parliament, while the party will allow the process to run its course and remain focused on its work in government.
''We will not allow ourselves to be distracted by political sideshows.''
The Patriotic Alliance also made it clear that while they support robust political debate, they do not condone the distortion of facts.
“South Africans are entitled to robust debate. They are not served by distortion, exaggeration, and the manufacture of false narratives.''
In response, speaking to IOL News, James dismissed the complaint as “frivolous,” saying it was an attempt to distract from the criminal charges she had filed against McKenzie for allegedly trying to intimidate her.
She added, “Minister McKenzie’s frivolous complaint, if he has indeed filed one, is merely an attempt to distract from the criminal charges I have laid against him today for trying to intimidate me.
''I have made it clear that, despite intimidation tactics or threats, I will continue to fulfil my duties as an elected Member of Parliament, entrusted by the people of South Africa to not shy away from exposing how drug cartels are destroying our communities.”
hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za
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