South African poet, songwriter and activist Ntsiki Mazwai is at it again and this time around she is making some serious allegations against the Department of Arts and Culture, specifically Minister Gayton McKenzie.
In a video she shared on her Instagram page, Ntsiki spoke about the corruption and favouritism going on, and she’s got some pretty strong evidence to back it up.
She claims that Unathi Nkayi was chosen to represent South Africa at the 33rd Havana International Book Fair in Cuba, despite not being a qualified writer or poet. Ntsiki furthermore questioned how this decision was made and why Unathi was given preferential treatment, including business-class flights and 5-star accommodations, while other writers were stuck in the economy flights and 3-star hotels.
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She also said that Minister Gayton of siphoning gigs to artist Jamali, raising concerns about corruption and unfair treatment within the industry. These allegations have sparked a heated debate on social media, with some people supporting Ntsiki’s claims and others accusing her of stirring up drama.
One supporter took to the comment section to agree with Ntsiki saying that she needs to be protected, “It takes courage to do this kind of work. You are our necessary for this generation.”
Another one said: “You have stood up for many and glad you still have strength to stand up for yourself…Love you ma’m.”
The video soon reached X (previously Twitter) where people shared their own thoughts. One user wrote that a few months ago she was the one who was bad-mouthing GNU and advocating for illegal immigrants now she wants to play victim.
This Ntsiki think everyone is smoking zol. Few months ago she was bad mouthing GNU and advocating for illegal immigrants and today Karma visited her, now she is the victim. SA have so many Patriotic candidates to take to Cuba. So Tsek Ntsiki?
— Tsobi Teff0 (@graciousvb) February 17, 2025
The minister denied these and said he would take Ntsiki to court for all the things she said.
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