News24 | Patriotic Alliance bans media from events for reporting ‘negatively’

An armed bodyguard accompanied Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie on an election campaign walkabout in Westbury, ahead of the local government elections.

James Oatway/Our City News

• Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie announced the party had “banned the media” over what he called biased and negative coverage, during a campaign walkabout in Westbury.
• Armed bodyguards in PA T-shirts carrying assault rifles enforced the ban, aggressively confronting a photographer and demanding they not be photographed despite being in a public space.
• McKenzie told journalists they could take photographs but that party representatives would not give interviews, calling the decision “nothing personal”.

The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has taken a decision to “ban the media”, because of negative coverage and bias against the party, leader Gayton McKenzie said in Westbury on Sunday.

This message was enforced by bodyguards, dressed in PA T-shirts, who were openly carrying assault rifles and later shouted aggressively at Our City News’ photographer, demanding that they not be photographed. This despite them being at a political event in a public space.

An armed bodyguard accompanied Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie on an election campaign walkabout in Westbury, ahead of the local government elections.

James Oatway/Our City News

Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie on an election campaign walkabout in Westbury ahead of the local government elections.

James Oatway/Our City News

McKenzie was joined by party members during a campaign walkabout in Westbury. The group gathered near Westbury Clinic before taking a short walk through the neighbourhood and spoke to residents as part of the party’s election campaign.

When Our City News approached the group, some PA members became hostile and shouted, “no media, no media”.

When we queried what was happening, McKenzie politely intervened.

“I’m not trying to stop you from doing your job,” he said.

“But we feel the media is biased against us. They are only reporting negative things, so we made the decision yesterday [Saturday] to ban the media.”

McKenzie added that the decision was “nothing personal” and the journalists were welcome to take photographs, but party representatives would not be giving interviews.

Visible security presence accompanied the group throughout the walkabout. Two men carrying assault rifles stayed close to the party members as they moved from building to building. They wore PA T-shirts, some of which carried the slogan: “We are ready for war.”

READ | Elections 2026: PA’s McKenzie brings reinforcements to Cape Town, bans media interactions

Although McKenzie assured the reporters that they could take photographs, the armed men repeatedly objected to being photographed. One man approached our photographer and shouted angrily: “You have been warned not to take photographs of us.”

It is unclear how the ban will be implemented.

The visit was part of the ongoing campaigning across Johannesburg, as political parties have become more visible in their communities ahead of polling day.

• This story is produced by Our City News, a non-profit newsroom that serves the people of Johannesburg.