JOHANNESBURG - Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has denied any links to drug cartels.
eNCA's Heidi Giokos spoke to prison inmate Jermaine Prim in an exclusive interview, where he accused the Patriotic Alliance leader of having links to criminal syndicates.
In a statement, the Patriotic Alliance condemned the allegations in the strongest possible terms, calling them reckless, defamatory and categorically false.
"Prim is a convicted criminal currently serving a prison sentence for fraud, scams and theft. His credibility is not a matter of debate - it is totally absent. This individual has a proven history of deception, impersonation and manipulation. Among his laundry list of cases is a charge of impersonating the head of the National Prosecuting Authority himself."
In an earlier interview recorded in January 2025, McKenzie denied any relationship with Prim, saying he had never met him and only spoke to Prim telephonically.
A few weeks ago, Prim submitted a sworn affidavit to the Ad Hoc Committee, pleading for his story to be heard.
On the call with eNCA, Prim alleged that the Patriotic Alliance and some of its members are proxies for drug cartels.
"I can tell you that Gayton is definitely a proxy of the Big 5. I can't reveal all the names of the Big 5, although I am aware of who they are. And it forms part of a police investigation."
McKenzie, however, dismissed Prim's claims of drug dealing as far-fetched and questioned whether permission was granted for the prison interview.
The Correctional Services department has launched an investigation into possible protocol breaches.
It says it did not receive an application from eNCA to interview the inmate.
Prim contacted the eNCA newsroom via a prison landline.