umm Abdillah, Radio Islam Programing – 2014.01.22

Election campaigners are out in gale force, churning over platitudes to garner the Muslim and Indian vote. This morning, Radio Islam was asked to host former convicted fraudster turned businessman and socialite Kenny Kunene, the secretary-general of The Patriotic Alliance (PA) and a member of its’ youth wing, 19 year old Zareef Minty.

The Patriotic Alliance (PA) was formed in November 2013 and self-described as economically centrist. They are known as the ‘gangster party’ due to blatant ties to gangs and the underworld, though to date no one in the party’s leadership structures is a confirmed gang member. The much-publicised party membership of Rashied Staggie, former Hard Livings Gang head, resulted in his parole being revoked by the correctional services department. He has since formally withdrawn from politics.

Speaking to Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat on Sabahul Muslim, Kunene stated that his life, as well as his past is transparent, and he has nothing to hide about himself.  He said he deemed eating sushi off naked women as an appreciation of Japanese customs. He highlighted his visit to the Houghton Mosque last Friday and how the message of the khateeb touched him. He says he no longer has fifteen girlfriends at a time and may have slept with his students, but they were never under the legal age. He said he was leaving his selfish life behind him and had grown weary of the ANC not implementing its’ policies. Kunene was a supporter of the African National Congress until 2013 when he wrote a scathing open letter to President Jacob Zuma criticising his leadership. In July 2013, Kunene briefly joined Julias Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters as a high profile member of the organisation's "Central Command Team" before resigning from the organisation in August 2013.

He spoke too about Mandela being a womaniser in his early years, Bill Clinton caught with his pants down, and even Zwelinzima Vavi, who once heavily criticised him, as being a womaniser too. He mentioned that the difference between the ANC and the DA, is that the DA is able to hide its corruption better.

Speaking on the issue of the calls from KZN hoodlums to remove Indians from BEE deals and benefits, he stated that Indians are victims of apartheid and deserve to benefit from future BEE deals. He mentioned he has seen black people treat other black people worse then their white counterparts, thus their making a case of how Indians treat black people holds no weight. He said Israel should get off Palestinian land and the struggle of the Palestinian people is justified.

The PA is not deterred by history which proves voters reject small parties, and surge ahead, for now, as the “new radical force” focusing on reviving the Western Cape’s coloured communities used as “pawns” by DA leader Helen Zille and her party.