Kenny Kunene, left, and Gayton McKenzie at the launch of
McKenzie's book Trapped in Sandton last year. Picture: Tracy Lee Stark
In what sounds like the plot of a TV movie, last week ‘celebrity ex-cons’ Gayton McKenzie and Kenny Kunene sued a policeman for illegally confiscating alcohol worth R200k from their restaurant, and on Friday they won their case. They’re now suing the state for damages.
According to them, the reason behind it all was a decades-old love spat.
The “bitter love rival” and police colonel who is at the centre of it all, and who apparently abused his power and SA Police Service resources to settle personal scores, is now set to potentially cost taxpayers millions of rands in the pending lawsuit against the state.
Sandton Police Station’s Colonel Owen King twice illegally raided and confiscated alcohol, valued at more than R200 000, at the popular restaurant and bar complex in Sandton called Rivonia on Deck. While doing this, Owen claimed that the large venue, owned by well-known socialite Kenny Kunene and his business partner Gayton McKenzie, was operating without a liquor licence.
But according to an affidavit by the Gauteng Liquor Board, and seen by The Citizen, the business’s licence was valid.
In a damning ruling at the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Friday, Judge Fritz van Oosten interdicted Owen and his commander, Brigadier Alan Billings, from disrupting operations at the restaurant.
The duo and Police Minister Nathi Nhleko were ordered to pay Kunene and McKenzie’s legal costs and to return the confiscated liquor before close of business yesterday.
The lover
In an exclusive, McKenzie told The Citizen that Owen had targeted him because of a personal matter. He said they had clashed many years ago “over a lover”.
“I’ve since moved on, but the guy still has an axe to grind against me and is abusing state resources to pursue personal matters,” McKenzie said.
“When he first raided our business, he gave me a notice to appear in court on February 14, which was a Sunday.”
McKenzie is well known for having once been a bank robber who was arrested and sent to prison. There, he eventually turned his back on crime and exposed warder corruption by smuggling secret video cameras into Grootvlei Maximum Security Prison. His friend Kunene, who was imprisoned with him at the time, was also part of the hard-hitting exposé that made the Jali commission that was investigating prison corruption a national talking point. A bestselling book was written about McKenzie’s life after he became a successful motivational speaker. He has written several books and worked in various business sectors as well as being involved in politics for the past three years.
The “bitter love rival” and police colonel who is at the centre of it all, and who apparently abused his power and SA Police Service resources to settle personal scores, is now set to potentially cost taxpayers millions of rands in the pending lawsuit against the state.
Sandton Police Station’s Colonel Owen King twice illegally raided and confiscated alcohol, valued at more than R200 000, at the popular restaurant and bar complex in Sandton called Rivonia on Deck. While doing this, Owen claimed that the large venue, owned by well-known socialite Kenny Kunene and his business partner Gayton McKenzie, was operating without a liquor licence.
But according to an affidavit by the Gauteng Liquor Board, and seen by The Citizen, the business’s licence was valid.
In a damning ruling at the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Friday, Judge Fritz van Oosten interdicted Owen and his commander, Brigadier Alan Billings, from disrupting operations at the restaurant.
The duo and Police Minister Nathi Nhleko were ordered to pay Kunene and McKenzie’s legal costs and to return the confiscated liquor before close of business yesterday.
The lover
In an exclusive, McKenzie told The Citizen that Owen had targeted him because of a personal matter. He said they had clashed many years ago “over a lover”.
“I’ve since moved on, but the guy still has an axe to grind against me and is abusing state resources to pursue personal matters,” McKenzie said.
“When he first raided our business, he gave me a notice to appear in court on February 14, which was a Sunday.”
McKenzie is well known for having once been a bank robber who was arrested and sent to prison. There, he eventually turned his back on crime and exposed warder corruption by smuggling secret video cameras into Grootvlei Maximum Security Prison. His friend Kunene, who was imprisoned with him at the time, was also part of the hard-hitting exposé that made the Jali commission that was investigating prison corruption a national talking point. A bestselling book was written about McKenzie’s life after he became a successful motivational speaker. He has written several books and worked in various business sectors as well as being involved in politics for the past three years.
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