The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is investigating a telephone interview between eNCA and inmate Jermaine Prim, who has made serious allegations against Gayton McKenzie, the leader of the Patriotic Alliance.
McKenzie says he will take legal action in response.
The dispute became public after Prim’s name came up during a parliamentary committee hearing. The committee is looking into claims made by KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
During the hearing, MK Party MP David Skosana asked Mkhwanazi about a letter written by Prim. The letter has not been released in full. In it, Prim says he shared a prison cell with Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, a businessman accused of murder, and that they had conversations which he wrote down. Mkhwanazi said the letter is hearsay.
Prim also claims in the letter that he has a voice recording linking McKenzie to drug dealers and illegal money.
In the eNCA interview aired on Saturday, journalist Heidi Giokos spoke to Prim about his relationship with McKenzie. Prim said he met McKenzie around 2012 through an associate named Mario “Ikit” Darzis, and they reconnected in 2020 after the death of Nathaniel Julies. Julies was a 16-year-old with Down syndrome who was shot by police in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg, in August 2020.
Prim said the case was close to his heart because his children live near the Julies family. He claimed McKenzie asked him to help run a social media campaign for the party’s by-elections. Prim said he ran the campaign and invested money, helping the PA win the Riverlea by-election. He said their relationship later broke down over an unpaid debt.
Prim also made a more serious claim. He said McKenzie sent him two phones while he was in prison. He alleged that McKenzie tried to silence him and that the reason he was placed in C-Max was because of McKenzie. Prim also claimed McKenzie has ties to drugs and was having problems with drug suppliers. He said he has bank statements and emails showing McKenzie owes him money. He also called McKenzie a “proxy” for the Big Five.
McKenzie said he will take legal action against the national commissioner and minister of correctional services, eNCA, its editor, and Heidi Giokos personally. He also said he will report the matter to the Broadcasting Ombudsman.
The Patriotic Alliance said the allegations are false. The party said a convicted fraudster does not become a credible whistleblower just by making louder claims, even with help from the media. The party said Prim has a history of deception and impersonation, including impersonating the head of the National Prosecuting Authority. They said no credible evidence has been produced to support his claims.
The PA also pointed to a 2022 report in the Mail & Guardian that described Prim running a fraud syndicate from prison using cloned phone numbers. The DCS has confirmed Prim did not follow proper channels. McKenzie said the same thing happened last year through the same news channel and journalist, with no evidence presented then or since.
McKenzie said he does not know the so-called Big Five and denies any links to them.
The DCS also condemned the phone interview with Prim at the Johannesburg Correctional Centre and said a full investigation is underway. They said the interview was not approved by the national commissioner and broke standard procedures.
eNCA news director Lukhanyo Calata said the channel cannot comment at this stage.