The minister of sport, arts and culture engages in bluster, dismissing evidence, disregarding accountability and substituting raw power for reason.

Daily Maverick sent McKenzie's office questions based on the claims in this piece, his response is published at the end.

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It was not the first time that Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie had abused his authority, acted irrationally and undermined basic principles of administrative justice.

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What makes the most recent episode -- his unilateral cancellation of Gabrielle Goliath's 2026 Venice Biennale selection by an independent panel -- particularly alarming is not merely the decision itself, but McKenzie's reckless disregard for freedoms, law, expertise and due process.

His dissolution of the board of the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (Saids) in mid-2025 was a similar abuse of power, disregard for law, good governance and parliamentary oversight, which was sadly under-reported by the media.

On 2 September 2025, reporting to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee (PPC) on Sport, Arts and Recreation, I stated -- in the minister's presence -- that his decision to dissolve the Saids board was irrational, unfair and unlawful.

That assessment was not rhetorical or defensive, but was grounded squarely in administrative law, specifically the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, which requires that public power be exercised lawfully, reasonably and procedurally fairly. McKenzie met none...