A defiant Gayton Mckenzie from the Patriotic Alliance said he will not “be bullied” by pro-Palestine supporters.
On Saturday, the PA filled up the Athlone Stadium with more than 20 000 members for a pre-election “victory rally” as pro-Palestine supporters picketed outside.
A bus also caught alight outside the stadium but according to the police this was an isolated incident.
As Mckenzie entered the stadium, a group of people with Palestinian flags stood by the gate and confronted him on his stance on the Palestine issue.
A members of Youth for Al-Quds said: “He said there was no genocide, they are going to hunt down Hamas, we are all Hamas. When we fought for freedom in South Africa, the ANC was told they were terrorists too.
“We want him to come to the streets of the Cape Flats and we are ready for him, he wants to kill us and we want him to know that we are ready.”
The members said while there are many Jews and Christians fighting for the liberation of Palestine, they accused Mckenzie of being “selfish” and “bought over by the Zionists”.
Ons baiza nie 💚💚💚💚💚 pic.twitter.com/8AnvqrbRaT
— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) May 11, 2024
During his speech, Mckenzie apologised to his Muslim supporters.
“The Muslims that were at the stadium were insulted by the Muslims outside. I apologised for the ordeal that they went through.
“So when I stopped, they (picketers) were standing there swearing at my mother.
“There is not a Muslim that will tell me not to follow what the Bible tells me, never, not me!
“My Bible says if you curse Israel you curse yourself. I’m not this pap Christian. I don’t get bullied and I don’t bully people.
“I have nothing against Palestine, but I’m not going to say from the river to the sea.”
Gates just opened 🔥🔥🔥🙏🏾🙏🏾@OnsBaizaNie pic.twitter.com/wmGoFgDeu1
— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) May 11, 2024
He added: “We are not even free yet here, but you want to free Palestine. We don’t even have electricity, there’s more electricity in Palestine than here. People want to be nice and politically correct. Don’t vote for me then.”
Regarding other issues on the PA manifesto, Mckenzie told his supporters when he comes into power he plans on mass deporting illegal foreigners, and reopening 6000 mines to create employment for locals.
“On 1 June they are leaving, they are selling expired food, and drugs to our children.
“We’ve got about 11 million illegal foreigners in this country and 6 million of them are working. We can create 6 million jobs just by mass deporting them.
“We are going to build a wall, it’s going to cost about R1.2 trillion and that is a 15-year project, that is going to give a lot of people work, and we are going to bring conscription back.”
At the end of the rally at about 7pm, a bus caught alight.
SAPS spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie said Athlone detectives opened a case of malicious damage to property.
“The incident did not occur near any protest actions or other gatherings in the area. The cause of the fire is still to be determined. Reports suggest that no one was injured during the incident.”
Patriotic Alliance spokesperson Steve Motale said they contacted the police who are busy going through CCTV footage, “but preliminary reports indicate that the affected bus was not hired to transport any PA members.”