Rob Hersov 'offered me R200m if we didn't compete in the Western Cape'

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Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie has once again expressed his disagreement with his “friend” Rob Hersov after Hersov reportedly suggested that some members of the Government of National Unity (GNU) should be placed on a terrorist list.

In response, McKenzie joked that his grandmother used to put him on her own “terrorist list.” “I disagree with Rob; my grandmother used to call me a terrorist,” McKenzie said when speaking to a reporter, referencing his days as a gang member.

“So when I did well, she took me off her list. Now, Rob wants to put me back on his. Rob has his opinions—some I agree with, and some I strongly disagree with. This is one of those instances.”

In 2023, McKenzie claimed that Hersov offered him R200 million to assist with his 2024 election campaign. “I was very close friends with Rob; I love that man. We are friends, even though we disagree on many issues and agree on many others. I love his family… he is a good friend of mine,” McKenzie said.

He recounted that Hersov approached him, saying, “G, I need to speak to you one-on-one. We want to help P with funding.” McKenzie then asked, “How much funding are you talking about?” to which Hersov replied, “R200 million.” Gayton explained that the R200 million Rob Hersov offered was meant to support his election campaign, but there was a contract that required his signature.

Gayton claims he was told not to campaign against DA

“He emailed the contract, and the whole NEC reviewed it. There were two things in the contract that we didn’t like: first, they wanted to share R2 billion amongst the parties. Another stipulation was that we should not compete in the Western Cape. We said, ‘Hell no,’ and I wrote an email telling them I didn’t want their R200 million.”

He continued, “I was called to another meeting by some business people in Stellenbosch. They wanted to fund us, but only on one condition: they didn’t want us to compete with the DA. I said, ‘No, I won’t do that. I want to take down the DA,’ and we began to argue.”

Two months later, Rob Hersov called McKenzie and ‘asked him to support Cape Independence’, suggesting that he could become its president. McKenzie responded, “No, I can’t.”