Avatar photo

By Citizen Reporter

Journalist


Gayton McKenzie: I lived like a king in jail, but most prisoners suffer

While South Africans have complained on social media that inmates seem to have a better life in prison, the PA leader says it is far from the truth.


Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie has responded to a video of an inmate who was showing off Louis Vuitton and Gucci shoes in a prison cell, saying it was not a true reflection of prison life.

A video of Tebogo Makena showing off his expensive clothes and shoes inside a prison cell last week left South Africans on social media saying life was easier for prisoners than hardworking South Africans on the outside.

In the video, Makena took out an orange Louis Vuitton shopping bag and an invoice of R13,000. Another inmate, who was taking the video, praised Makena for his expensive taste, as Makena boasted that he did not buy his things from Marabastad. His clothes were not fake, he said, as he showed off the invoice.

Makena said he bought his goodies at Shop 26 Upper Level at Sandton City in Johannesburg.

The inmate also had Jacobs Kronung coffee, All Bran Flakes, and a Russel Hobbs kettle.

But McKenzie said only 1% of prisoners lived like that, while the rest suffered the consequences of their actions.

During his 15-year sentence for two separate robberies, McKenzie said he lived like a king. In fact, he used to run prison, he claimed.

“I lived like a king in jail, I never did my own laundry, never ate prison food for a decade, my friends like Kenny Kunene drank alcohol freely, I controlled prison. We formed part of the 1% of prisoners who live like lords in jail,” he said.

In a series of tweets that left his followers asking for a book about his experience in jail, he also detailed how bad life was for those who did not have the money to live like him.

According to McKenzie, things go wrong for most prisoners – especially those who display fear – even before reaching their new home as they get robbed by other prisoners on the way.

“No one dares to complain that they have been robbed, you can’t start your sentence making enemies by snitching,” he said.

Things go downhill from there. Check out his tweets below:

Also read: WATCH: Inmate shows off R13K Louis Vuitton and Gucci shoes in prison cell

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.

Read more on these topics

Gayton McKenzie Social Media

Access premium news and stories

Access to the top content, vouchers and other member only benefits