Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie has fired back at his deputy, Peace Mabe, over a statement condemning Israel’s presence at the Olympics. McKenzie accused Mabe of pushing politics instead of showing support for SA’s athletes.
THE CLAWS are out within South Africa’s Government of National Unity (GNU) over Israel’s participation in the Olympics.
The Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Peace Mabe, has come out against the state’s involvement at the renowned sports tournament taking place in Paris.
“The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture condemns the participation of the genocidal state of Israel in the Paris 2024 Olympics as it seriously undermines the principles of Olympism,” the department said in a statement.
These principles include: Universality and solidarity, Unity in diversity, Autonomy and Good Government and Sustainability, according to Mabe.
However, Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie fired back at the statement, accusing Mabe of pushing politics instead of showing support for SA’s athletes.
McKenzie said on his X (formerly Twitter) account that he would “respond fully” after the Olympics in regard to his “displeasure” over the statement released by Mabe. “I don’t want politics to take centre stage now, this is the time for @OfficialTeamRSA, let’s rally behind them,” he wrote.
I shall respond fully in regards to my displeasure about the statement released by Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts & Culture Ms Peace Mabe only after the Olympics. I don’t want politics to take centre stage now, this is the time for @OfficialTeamRSA, let’s rally behind them 👊🏾👊🏾👊🏾
— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) July 27, 2024
In the statement, Mabe said she sees Israel’s presence at the Olympics as “grossly inhuman and indicative of scant regard for thousands of Palestinian lives lost as a result of continued genocide by Israel against women, children, men, the elderly and the sick”.
Russia and Belarus are among the countries forbidden from competing in this year’s Olympics after the International Olympic Committee agreed to suspend them due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
