Gayton McKenzie South African MultiMillionare Businessman,Motivational Speaker, Former Bank Robber !!!


Kenny Kunene and Gayton McKenzie Picture




Gayton McKenzie
Gayton McKenzie is a South African motivational speaker who came to public attention in 2002 when he and a small group of inmates smuggled secret video cameras into Grootvlei Prison in the Free State province.

Kenny Kunene has ordered a yellow Lamborghini valued at R1.5 Million and is in the market for a helicopter


The motivation for this was McKenzie's shock at witnessing the nine-hour rape of a fourteen year old white boy. McKenzie, who grew up during Apartheid, and was classified racially as a "coloured", had entered prison as a racist. This event, one of innumerable rapes that he witnessed during his more than seven years in jail, changed his view.
Corrupt wardens, who had sold the boy to a rapist gang, told McKenzie that there was "not enough proof" to do anything about the rape. This was in spite of the boy's physical appearance.


McKenzie, who, until then had been a committed criminal, having entered jail for, among other crimes, bank robbery, and who was one of the prison's most senior gang members, turned his back on crime.
XCon So What Kenny Kunene and Gayton McKenzie Picture

The secret video footage showed numerous acts of warden corruption, including buying prison food, supplying drugs and liquor, smuggling a loaded pistol into jail and, finally, selling a juvenile for the purpose of sex to another prisoner, who was also part of the video team. When the footage hit national television, and was also screened internationally, McKenzie's team became knows as the "Grootvlei Four".
Gayton McKenzie Swizz Beatz Kenny Kunene Picture


They were subsequently victimised in prison, with several attempts made on their lives. Three of the four men (other video makers' identities had been successfully kept secret) were finally released from prison after obtaining remissions of sentence for their exposure work. McKenzie went on to marry Nicolett Joubert.
Kenny Kunene Louis Figo and Gayton McKenzie Picture


She was an advocate he met while still in jail when she was sent by the South African Presidency as a member of the Jali Commission tasked with investigating corruption in South African prisons.


After his release he went on a national campaign to combat ever-higher levels of crime in South Africa. His talks to school children were sponsored by a security company, and he is still serving as an advocate against crime. Thus far, he has reached 1.6 million South African school children of all ages. He was also voted the country's top corporate speaker for the last three years.



After an extraordinary life of crime, prison and redemption, Gayton McKenzie is today one of the most well-loved and sought-after motivational speakers in the country and has addressed millions of school kids, parents and businesspeople with his hard-hitting, entertaining, engaging and inspiring talk. A deal to produce a film based on his biography has also been signed and filming will commence this year. The success of the film will contribute to a drug rehab centre he is planning to build in the township where he grew up, and where he continues to do charity work for the children in the area. He has worked with various corporate sponsors such as Chubb and Nike, and is the spokesperson for the JAG Sports and Education Foundation which is bringing hope to kids in underprivileged areas. Gayton is also the Group Executive for Central Rand Gold, where he is in charge of community participation and social investment.






Gayton McKenzie came to controversial public attention in 2002 when he and a small group of fellow inmates smuggled secret video cameras into Grootvlei Prison in the Free State province.
The motivation for this was Gayton’s shock at witnessing the nine-hour rape of a fourteen year old white boy. McKenzie, who grew up during Apartheid, and was classified racially as a "coloured", had entered prison as a racist. This event, one of innumerable rapes that he witnessed during his more than seven years in jail, changed his view. Corrupt wardens, who had sold the boy to a rapist gang, told McKenzie that there was "not enough proof" to do anything about the rape. This was in spite of the boy's physical appearance.






Gayton, who, until then had been a committed criminal, having entered jail for, among other crimes, bank robbery, and who was one of the prison's most senior gang members, turned his back on crime. The secret video footage showed numerous acts of warden corruption, including buying prison food, supplying drugs and liquor, smuggling a loaded pistol into jail and, finally, selling a juvenile for the purpose of sex to another prisoner, who was also part of the video team. When the footage hit national television, and was also screened internationally, McKenzie's team became known as the "Grootvlei Four". They were subsequently victimised in prison, with several attempts made on their lives. Three of the four men (other video makers' identities had been successfully kept secret) were finally released from prison after obtaining remissions of sentence for their exposure work. McKenzie went on to marry Nicolett Joubert. She was an advocate he met while still in jail when she was sent by the South African Presidency as a member of the Jali Commission tasked with investigating corruption in South African prisons.


After his release he went on a national campaign to combat ever-higher levels of crime in South Africa. His talks to school children were sponsored by a security company, and he is still serving as an advocate against crime. Thus far, he has reached 2 million South African school children of all ages. Thanks, in part, to his great exuberance and charisma, he was also voted the country's top corporate speaker for the last three years.




What Gayton offers as a corporate speaker:





Gayton’s talks examine the following themes, among many others:





• His own personal journey and what led to his changed views on life


• The legacy of crime in South Africa


• The question of racial division in South Africa and how it can be overcome


• The need for personal integrity and ethics


• How to recognise your blessings


• Reaching your dreams


• How to turn your suffering into something that enriches you


• Black Economic Empowerment






Gayton’s talks are extrememly memorable because he shocks as much as he entertains, and he is always very entertaining. No one who’s listened to him can ever walk away quite the same person.
Kenny Kunene Picture


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Jamie Foxx might play role of SA convict Gayton McKenzie


OUTSIDE CHANCE: Gayton McKenzie, a former gangster and bank robber who exposed corruption in prison, is now a motivational speaker. The life of the Gayton McKenzie, a convict paroled after helping to expose corruption at Grootvlei Maximum Security Prison in Bloemfontein, will be turned into a movie.

His character might be played by Hollywood megastar Jamie Foxx - but McKenzie feels a more home-grown approach would be better.

"I know the producers want to take it global, but I really want a South African guy to play me," he said.

The producer of the film, Global Creative Studios, is negotiating with Morgan Freeman, whom they want to play Gayton's father.

McKenzie shot to fame in 2002 when a secret videotape of corruption at Grootvlei prison was screened on television around the world.

McKenzie said the film would allow him to give something back to the community that he once terrorised.

He wants to build a drug rehabilitation centre near his home township of Heidedal, in the Free State.

Peter Morgan, of Global, said his company was talking to potential investors in an attempt to attract funding for the film.


I don't boast, I boost, says Mister Sushi
I'm an inspiration, says Kunene, as he buys R1.5m Lamborghini
Nov 14, 2010 12:00 AM By BONGANI MDAKANE and ROWAN PHILP

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A month after provoking public fury over his R700000 birthday party, former gangster Kenny Kunene has ordered a yellow Lamborghini valued at around R1.5-million and is in the market for a helicopter.

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TOASTING SUCCESS: Kenny Kunene brandishes a giant champagne bottle behind gilded 'prison bars' at his club, ZAR Picture: SIMPHIWE NKWALI










'We have been made by white people - we are not ashamed to say that'
He says his party - at which sushi was served on the bodies of half-naked models - was nothing compared with the R800000 he splurged on another bash in his Free State home town of Odendaalsrus to thank friends and ancestors in August last year.



Then he arrived in a helicopter for the traditional slaughtering of a cow.

This is the man who dares South Africans to find fault with his millions and his partying excesses.

Just four years ago, Kunene says he had less than R10000 in assets, had to hitchhike to meetings and sometimes slept in business partner Gayton McKenzie's car.

Now he is a part owner of a mining and entertainment empire and has partied with celebrities like musician John Legend and French football coach Arsene Wenger.

He and McKenzie, also an ex-convict, park their cars together so that their personalised numberplates read "X Con" and "So what?"










While Cosatu secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi has called him a "hyena" who "spits in the face of the poor", Kunene claims he is a "new generation role model" for South Africa's youth.

In an interview withthe Sunday Times, Kunene, 40, acknowledged that public speculation and suspicion were rife about how he jumped from poverty to riches in just four years.

He spent 10 years in jail before his 2003 release and then starting his business empire in 2006, he says.

"The reason why everybody is questioning my income is maybe they have limited knowledge of the business world. Or they are lazy - they like salaries and to bask in the sun."

Born in Kutlwanong township and raised by his grandparents and unemployed mother, Kunene now lives in a reported R12-million Sandton apartment, while his wife and son live in Odendaalsrus.

He was jailed in Grootvlei Prison in the Free State for six years for fraud in 1997, having spent four years awaiting trial.

There he risked his life to expose gross corruption and abuse to the Jali Commission.

He said he plotted his rise to riches there while literally on his knees clipping the toenails and calluses of a prison warder.

This week, he revealed more details of his criminal history when he committed sometimes violent crimes as part of a gang while working as a Klerksdorp teacher.

In what he described as "the worst thing I ever did", he said that, enraged that a fellow gang member had heightened their risk of arrest, he shot him in the thigh as they left the scene of an armed robbery.

He admitted that he had tried to sell ivory illegally in Pretoria in 1995 and told of how he had grabbed a tourist around the neck to shield himself from police guns aimed at him before his arrest. That case was later dropped.

"We used to get involved in fraud, car theft, robberies. Now, when we do our talks to kids and schools, we say, 'When we were criminals, we couldn't enjoy our cars, we couldn't drive them in the daylight.'"

Under threat to his life from prisoners and corrupt warders, he said he once carried a teapot spiked with rat poison to a panel of Jali Commission advocates - including Jerome Brauns, SC, who later defended President Jacob Zuma - but warned them not to drink it.

"The 50m I walked with that kettle was the longest of my life - and the decision I made to warn Advocate Brauns was the best of my life."

For his success, Kunene credits McKenzie, the ANC's empowerment policies "beyond tenders", "foreign investors" and the teaching and support of two "mentors", mine boss and philanthropist Greg James and telecommunications tycoon Gavin Varejes.

He said McKenzie found him counselling troubled pupils at Calculus Secondary School in Bloemfontein, at a salary of R3000 a month, in 2006 and proposed they join forces to sell McKenzie's book, The Choice, to schools.

"We went everywhere. Sometimes we'd sleep in the car when we could not (afford) a hotel.''

He said that James, inspired by the book's anti-crime message, bought 80000 copies of two versions of the book in June 2007 to give to Western Cape schools, thus providing him and McKenzie with the cash to start "a small mine consultancy business".

The pair were later appointed senior managers at Central Rand Gold (CRG) - where James was CEO - in charge of dealing with the Soweto community affected by the proposed mining.

He said he had since become co-owner of "about three, four businesses", including a new mining venture "elsewhere in Africa", which he said could grow to be worth R700-million.

"Our mentors, Greg and Gavin, have taught us to diversify. We have been made by white people - we are not ashamed to say that - because they celebrate when you turn your life around."

He gave a long list of his charities, from a burial fund for "our heroes" in the MK Veterans' Association to university bursaries for 12 Soweto students, whom he set up in "brand-new flats".

At his five-star club, ZAR, in Sandton, the Sunday Times found Kunene, dressed in one of his Aigner designer suits, being debriefed by staff he had sent to Durban to find a site for a ZAR franchise. He flaunted his history by holding a giant champagne bottle behind gold-painted "prison bars".

Said Kunene: "I landed in a helicopter in my area to motivate young people - some of you will say I am boasting. I am not boasting, I am boosting."

How I earned my bucks

In jail, Kenny Kunene says, he earned R22 a month making tea for the warders at Grootvlei Prison, and other cash and goods working for Gayton McKenzie "in the smuggling business";
On his release in 2003, he declined numerous invitations to take part in robberies and scams, despite having only R3000 in his bank account;
In 2004, he earned a small wage as the agent for a man selling refurbished desks and stationery to schools in the Free State;
Later that year, he used his old contacts to arrange discounts on equipment for a partner starting a nightclub in Odendaalsrus, and earned a stake in the business;
In September 2005, he got a teaching job at Calculus Secondary School in Bloemfontein, teaching life orientation and English, for which he earned R3000 a month. He bought an old VW Golf, but had to put it on blocks;
In 2006, with less than R10000 in assets, he struck a deal with Gayton McKenzie to form X Concepts Publishing and to promote and sell McKenzie's prison biography. They also began a fish company with four trucks and a refrigerated warehouse, and later sold it "for profit";
Kunene became rich in 2007 selling tickets for McKenzie's motivational talks to companies for "big money" and also advised people on "holes" in their home security for a fee. A portion of the money they made from the book sales was invested in a "mine consultancy business". Benefactor Greg James's company, CRG, hired Kunene on a large contractor's salary. He does not deny that he received share options allegedly worth hundreds of thousands of rands;
In February 2008, he was appointed a senior manager of community relations at CRG. He bought a multimillion-rand Sandton apartment and a Porsche 911, using a numberplate that read "What now?" as a taunt to prisoners who said he could not afford the car without resorting to crime;
Applying business lessons he says they had learnt from mentors, James and Gavin Varejes, Kunene and McKenzie attracted foreign investors and became part owners of "about three, four companies"; and
In February 2010, the pair began mining operations in Zimbabwe. Kunene says they are in the process of securing R140-million in start-up funding from foreign investors for a R700-million mining project "in another African country" and plan further ZAR clubs in Durban and Mozambique.
NEWS FLASH

In his first legal drama since prison, Kunene this week rushed to resign his position as director of at least five private companies - having learnt it was illegal from newspaper revelations for convicted fraudsters to be directors of companies.

Kunene said he discovered his "honest mistake" after newspaper revelations two weeks ago revealed that Tony Yengeni, the former ANC chief whip and fraudster, had contravened the section by becoming the director of six companies.

No person with a compulsory prison term for an offence "involving dishonesty" may be a director of a company, according to the SA Companies Act.

Kunene told the Sunday Times: "I didn't know that was the rule - when I read this thing about Yengeni, I started resigning all my directorships."

Among the companies he is resigning from include African Australian Minerals and Energy Ltd, Dirbyn Investment Holdings and Dirbyn Publications - saying he would lodge the papers yesterday. - Rowan Philp


Tycoon writes off R2m car


gayton_april 30

INLSA

Gayton McKenzie. Photo: Khaya Ngwenya

Following his miraculous escape last weekend when he wrecked a R2 million supercar outside Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, controversial businessman Gayton McKenzie already has his eyes on a multimillion-rand Maybach limousine.

McKenzie, the chairman of Kenny Kunene’s growing nightclub empire ZAR, was travelling in a convoy of flashy cars on the R61 to Ngcobo when his white Audi R8 Spyder flew off the road, crashed through a fence and stopped in a field.

The vehicle knocked down an Eskom power pole, cutting electricity to parts of Ngcobo.

In the car with him was former Miss SA Teen Moloko McKenzie (not related to Gayton), who was knocked unconscious.

Gayton managed to free himself from the wreck, pulled Moloko free of the seat and carried her to safety.

Gayton, a former prisoner, his business partner Kunene and others were returning to Gauteng after attending the wedding of President Jacob Zuma’s daughter Dudu and businessman Lonwabo Sambudla at the Easter weekend.

The accident was witnessed by several people in the convoy, and Kunene was following the R8 in his Lam- borghini convertible.

“We’re all just glad that Gayton is okay. It was absolutely horrifying, but the important thing is that he is okay,” said Kunene.

“He has hurt his leg really badly and cannot drive at the moment. So, after he attends meetings he goes straight home to relax because he needs to recover,” said Kunene.

“Gayton was simply happy to be alive,” he added.

Meanwhile the Sushi King has revealed that he would be bringing popular US producer-performer Timbaland to the country to celebrate his club ZAR’s birthday at the end of May.

Kunene also revealed that several other famous singers would perform alongside Timbaland.

Celebrities Ciara, Fat Joe and Lil’ Kim are expected to join in the celebrations.

“Timbaland and the rest have been in talks with ZAR to do a four-show tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe, starting at the end of May, and have agreed to spend a week in Mzanzi,” said Kunene.

“So, instead of the usual whirlwind tour, they will be spending time with the ZAR family to get to know the country and its people and rock us all in Johannesburg, Durban, Nelspruit and Harare,” he added. - Saturday Star

ZAR Club chairman Gayton McKenzie crashed his Audi R8 V10 Spyder on Easter.





Celebs race for a good cause

May 5, 2011 10:54 PM | By Kuli Roberts

Kuli Roberts: It is always wonderful to see celebrities giving to charities, so off I went to Rosebank to witness the Amazing Race.


Actress Faye Peters with Maud Nale, publicity executive of The Wild, at the 'Big Brother Amplified' after party
Actress Faye Peters with Maud Nale, publicity executive of The Wild, at the 'Big Brother Amplified' after party

Organised by Sli Dumake, the ever-ravishing marketing manager of the Zone shopping mall, the race was amusing because while some DJs took it seriously, others made it clear that the gym is not a close friend.

You should have seen how hard DJ Fresh ran. At one point I thought he was being chased by the devil.

The Amazing Race involved three teams each led by a hot DJ racing from shop to shop looking for secret clues.

The hunky and heavily tattooed DJ Fresh and his team won R30000, and he gave us a sweet speech about how he would do anything for charity. He competed with the uber-hot DJ Euphonick who came last probably because he was missing his girlfriend, Bonang Mathema. What sweet, young love.

The third DJ was DJ Grant from 5fm. Although the youngest, he kept us in stitches with his continuous moaning about being tired.

It was a great afternoon watching folk run for their money, listening to music and chatting to fabulous folk.

On the topic of gorgeous men, the Big Brother Amplified after party, which took place at ZAR, was filled mostly with folk I did not recognise. But I did spot owner Gayton McKenzie being assisted up the stairs. Why do these folk never rest? Remember, he broke his foot after attending Dudu Zuma's party. Clearly, he is still up for a party.

It was also nice to see actress Faye Peters, who is now in a new soapie. She told me she has been living in London for almost a decade. It was great to hear she still has her South African accent - unlike those folk who go to the US for two days and come back with a twang. I asked her if she has found a new man. She said she had not.

Being nice, I suggested graveyards and holding cells.

While we waited for American singer Busta Rhymes to arrive, I also chatted to sexy Playboy bunny Tshego Seakgoe, who is even sexier in real life. She was going on and on about how cool her parents are to let her bare her chest for the May issue of Playboy.

"Of course, I would not mind if my kids wanted to show off their boobs if they are being paid," said the weaved one while her boyfriend happily snapped pictures of her every move.

Also spotted Zola of Zola 7 fame at the party. He might have lost his shows, and his contacts, but the man still has swagger and is as humble as ever. While the rest of the celebs were sitting in the VIP area, he was with a bevy of beauties in ZAR's peasant's area. Even though he still has issues, he was looking good enough to eat.

Busta Rhymes never arrived, but I did get to hear fantastic new talent this week.

I went to a club in Sandton to listen to Durban's sensational singer, JAE, perform at her album launch. The sexy lass is known for her song Missing You, which was a major hit a couple of years ago.

She was great and was applauded by hot talents such as Liquid Deep, DJ Switch and loads of other hot acts like Chad, who hails from the Cape.

There was great food and dodgy sponsored gear.

We had a massive party, even though Kenny Kunene kept bugging me about bringing Ciara and other African Americans to come and sing in this country.

Kenny Kunene Mr Sushi Mansion South Africa Living Life To the Fullest - Majozi!!!

































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Zar nightclub warned to obtain valid operating license
Rafiq Wagiet | 2 Day(s) Ago

Management of the trendy ZAR nightclub in Cape Town has been warned to obtain valid operating licenses or face closure.

The night spot, which opened in January this year, is operating without liquor, entertainment and business licenses.

The club, which is owned by business tycoon Kenny Kunene, is housed at the Cape Royale Hotel in Greenpoint.

It is believed the club is operating on the hotel's licenses.

Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security JP Smith said nightclub management will be issued with a notice.

“As for the business license, when they get the first notice it will give them a warning and a minimal time to comply. Failing so, we will take them to court,” he said.

Smith said the SAPS Liquor Unit will also issue ZAR management with a final notice.

ZAR: Shebeen or trendy nightclub?
BIÉNNE HUISMAN | 03 July, 2011 14:51
Kenny   Kunene  was Celebrating his Birthday Party at Zar in Sandton. Pic:SIBUSISO MSIBI. 22/10/2010. © Sunday World
Kenny Kunene was Celebrating his Birthday Party at Zar in Sandton. Pic:SIBUSISO MSIBI. 22/10/2010. © Sunday World
Image by: Sibusiso Msibi / © Sunday World


TYCOON Kenny Kunene and his business partner Gayton McKenzie are running their plush Cape Town nightclub like an unlicensed shebeen, city politicians said.

Whisky costs up to R200 a shot and cocktails R50 a pop at ZAR in Cape Town.

The club ruffled feathers when, at its opening in January, it featured bikini-clad girls covered in sushi and draped over sports cars.

Special guest Julius Malema told partygoers: "Helen Zille will not close ZAR at 2am like she does to other clubs in Cape Town."

This week, five months later, it has emerged that the club is operating without:

  • A liquor licence;
  • An entertainment licence; or
  • A business licence that allows for the serving of food.
  • And complaints over noisy antics at the club, housed at the five-star Cape Royale Hotel in Green Point, are pouring in.

Police have already fined the hotel and ZAR for contravening liquor laws.

Kunene insisted the club was trading under the auspices of licences held by the hotel. This is not the case, according to the city council, which argues that the hotel and ZAR are two separate entities.

Mayoral committee member for safety and security Jean Pierre Smith said: "The only difference between ZAR and an ordinary shebeen is this dispute. We can't just go in guns blazing, we first need to get to the bottom of this."

On Friday McKenzie extended an olive branch, lauding the city's liquor board as "helpful and efficient".

"We are very respectful of the laws of Cape Town. We want to keep employing people in Cape Town and drawing ZAR fans to the city. We will do everything required," he said.

"As for the licences, we began trading ... based on a number of assumptions, which have since been challenged. As a result we are now resolving all these matters with the liquor board. All other legal matters are also being resolved."

On Wednesday evening staff and customers at the club seemed oblivious of the legal storm over ZAR.

Patrons paid a cover charge to gain access to a "Battle of the Divas" bash - with platters of meatballs, cupcakes, fruit skewers and flutes of rose-coloured bubbly up for grabs at the neon-lit bar.

Nathan Ladegourdie, assistant chief of the city's liquor enforcement and compliance unit, said further steps would be taken, depending on the outcome of the next council and police inspection of ZAR.

"We phoned in a few weeks ago to inform them that there were noise complaints. The noise complaints will be taken into account when they apply for the entertainment licence."

The hotel's marketing manager, Kim Cochrane, said it had been their "understanding" that ZAR was covered by the hotel's liquor licence.

In the interim, ZAR's management was in the process of submitting all the required applications to the relevant authorities, she said
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Secret film exposes South African jails

Warders trade in sex, drugs and weapons, inquiry told

The South African prisons department has been forced to reinstate a governor who was sacked for resisting official pressure to destroy a secretly made video showing warders selling convicts weapons, drugs and juveniles for sex.

Tatalo Setlai, the governor of Grootvlei prison, was sacked a fortnight ago, after the presentation of the video to a judicial inquiry laid the ground for weeks of astonishing and at times horrific evidence about the scale of the corruption and abuse in jails.

More than 20 warders are now under investigation. One is accused of rape, another of making £600 a month smuggling brandy to inmates.

The video was made by four prisoners at the jail in Bloemfontein over a five-month period. Using miniature cameras, the four - two murderers, an armed robber and a cattle rustler - filmed in their cell, the prison kitchen, and parts of the jail where warders sold drugs and alcohol to convicts.

Two particularly disturbing scenes stunned the inquiry, and, after the video was shown on television, the public. One showed a warder selling a pistol and a bullet to a double murderer for about £400, for use in an escape attempt. The other caught a guard bringing a juvenile inmate into the cell for sex with another prisoner.

The video opened the floodgates for evidence by youths who told how they were regularly auctioned by warders to older inmates for sex. Several accused a senior warder, Sam Mohanoe, of having raped juvenile prisoners since 1985.

One, Wilson Mohodi, said on Monday that Mr Mohanoe ran a "soccer club" for young inmates who were all forced to have sex with him. He said the guard rewarded the young men with marijuana, toiletries and petroleum jelly.

"When [Mohanoe] needed a young man, he gave me dagga [marijuana], and I gave him a young man," Mohodi told the commission. "Sometimes, after he had finished with a young man, he would call me and I would also have intercourse in his office."

The commission also heard this week that one juvenile, unable to afford the £36 bail while awaiting trial for theft, was raped 11 times and twice tried to commit suicide. "I don't accept myself as a human being anymore," the youth told the commission.

A prisoner the youth identified as one of his rapist, Japhta Moeng, admitted that there was a trade in young inmates for sex.

"Juveniles are sold there. If he was sold, what can I do?" Moeng said.

Turning to his victim, he added: "If I did sodomise you, I did it because you were sold by somebody else to me."

Other prisoners have told the commission of lesser abuses: one was forced to give a senior prison official a pedicure and cut his corns.

A female prisons commissioner said she was forced by armed warders to kneel, and was spat on and called a bitch, because, they said, it was against tradition for a woman to stand in front of men.

One man complained to the commission that a fellow convict, jailed for impersonating a doctor, was treating prisoners in the jail hospital.

Gayton McKenzie, the prisoner who organised the videotaping, said he was responding to President Thabo Mbeki's declaration of 2002 as the "year of the volunteer".

The convicts handed the video to the prison governor, Mr Satlei, who told the inquiry that he regarded it as an important step in eradicating abuse and corruption by his staff. Officials in the prisons department had different ideas, however.

Mr Setlai said that the provincial correctional services commissioner, Willem Damons, asked him to destroy the tape. "He said it would damage the image of the department, the government and the country as a whole, and drive investors away."

The minister of justice, Penuell Maduna, came to the governor's defence after a prisons commissioner, Linda Mti, said he should be suspended, but he was removed from his post and appointed to the parole board.

Mr Setlai was reinstated at Grootvlei on Tuesday after he had threatened legal action and the chief counsel at the judicial inquiry had accused Mr Damons of constructing a "tissue of lies" about him.

The commission heard that Mr Damons blocked the arrest of the accused warders, who are still employed by the prison service.

The four prisoners who recorded the video said they were stripped of their privileges and locked in their cells for 23 hours a day as punishment.

Another, a member of one of the notoriously violent prison gangs, told the inquiry that a "death sentence" had been passed on the four at the behest of some warders.

One of the four, Samuel Grobbelaar, said two attempts had already been made to kill him.

He was knocked unconscious with a steel rod and had his food poisoned while he was recovering in hospital.


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