Look, with the World Cup nearing an end, if you weren’t lucky enough to score a Big Shot businessman from abroad, askies! But all is not lost ladies. I’m pretty sure that by now you’ve learned your lesson and realized that all these men who were in South Africa aren’t necessarily rich but rather sports fanatics who had about four years to save up for the trip to Mzansi! After all, people knew about the World Cup six years before it actually happened so I wouldn’t be surprised if amongst our foreign visitors we had regular blokes who work at McDonalds or packers at Department stores!
So because I’m not selfish and I love happy endings, I thought to myself; “Wait a minute? Some of my South African sisters were probably taken for a ride by these international low-life-scum-bags and weren’t even paid a dime after they outdid themselves performing their best sex tricks, giving these foreign men sexual pleasures.Lemme be kind and introduce them to some elite South African businessmen who might wipe away their tears.?”
So if you play your cards right; a good chance to score permanent residency in Le Good Life is guaranteed! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity ladies and basically a copy of Khanyi Mbau’s Database! Happy Shopping!
Meet our Top 10 Pick of Powerful men!
10: Julius Malema
President of The ANC Youth League by day, Socialite by night and lashes out to the Media to cure his hang over! Very popular with the girls too!
9. Zizi Kodwa
President Zuma’s Spokesperson and Mr Extravagant! If you don’t know this guy, ask all the girls rocking real human hair, brazilian weave or indian hair! I won’t say much phela he’s a comrade and I don’t wanna disappear without a trace! *hides in exile*
8. Collen Mashawana
CEO of Vharani Consulting! Not shy to put his hand in his very deep pocket and he’s Venda ladies! If that means anything to you! Psss
7. Eric
He doesn’t need a surname he is THE Eric, son of Gabon President. God knows what he does but he’s filthy rich (Ask Babalwa and Precious Makgaretsa)Big baller! Has money like dust!
Bongani
6. Bongani Mbindwane
CEO of Platfields Limited. Former Managing Director, Miyas Commercial Fishing; Director of various mining and exploration companies; Ubambo Investments; Property Tender Board Member and Property Committee Member, Western Cape Provincial Government; Environmental Consultant, ECS and City of Cape Town. – I hear he runs you a Moet bath and dries you using his tongue!
5. Fana Hlongwane
Made his millions if not billions through the arms deal. Known for his high-flying lifestyle in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs and he also goes by the name “Styles” because of his taste for the good things in life.
4. Kenny Majozi Kunene
Rich MuthaF*@ker! Co-owns ZAR! Plenty of other Businesses, ask Sophla GP!
Gayton
3. Gayton McKenzie
Former gangster turned businessman! Co-owner of Sandton’s new Night Club, ZAR! For those who like them Dangerous! Very good friends with number 4!
2. Wandile Motlana
Group Executive Chairman of Kensani PtyLTD he also co-founded Tirelo Capital in 1995, a joint venture with Nedbank Corporate. He has Coessa consortium which built the first major black-owned mixed use complex in Cape Town’s Foreshore under his belt. Also an investment committee member of Enablis and the Khula Loan and Equity Fund *Apparently Khanyi Cried and Begged to be with this guy, he eventually issued her with a retraining order! Kwaaaaaaa!
And our number one spot goes to Mzansi’s undisputed CandyMan! The Official Money Spender, Certified Billionaire! All the ladies loooooove him! Ask all the yellow bones, he must have hit on all of them! Drum Rollllllllllll!
1. Mabheleni Ntuli
Nuff Said! DONE!
And that is your list Ladies! Ten Rich South African Men all Gold Diggers want in their beds! Very wealthy and they lead very extravagant lifestyles! Look, I’m talking breakfast in Cape Town, lunch in Durban, supper in Mozambique and a private party inside the Gautrain
Gayton McKenzie: Ghanaians have put me to shame
South African motivational speaker and author, Gayton McKenzie, appears to have encountered yet another of life's baffling fixes, [out of prison though], and now he is asking himself if he even needed to have taken to crime at all in the first place.McKenzie did time at the Grootvlei Prison in South Africa's Free State province for bank robbery, but a heroic deed with three other prisoners spared him the remaining eight years of the 15-year jail term.And visiting Ghana for the first time as a member of a sports and education foundation team at the request of former Asante Kotoko and King Faisal CEO, Herbert Mensah, McKenzie dug deep into his person Friday evening and intoned that Ghanaians have put him to shame.His reason? Gayton told myjoyonline.com that since arriving in Ghana on Wednesday, he has seen “absolute poverty here”, “un-be-lie-vably pessimistic people,” “a proud but hopeless people,” and “a forgotten nation.”“But one thing that stood out for me in Ghana is the pride that the people have even in their suffering. It is the honesty. They put me to shame because I said that I committed crime because I was poor, but I've seen people that are 100 percent poorer than I ever was but they are not committing crimes here.”And the touching lesson, he says, urges him on to want to hit the streets all day to encourage people to shun crime and live their dreams, great, positive dreams of course; an agenda he has been spreading for five years since being set free from prison.And prison - McKenzie has a 'better' name for it; HELL, and if you dreamed of doing anything that has a jail sentence potential, he says to tell you DON'T! Because you may not survive and return to even a wretched life again.“All I want to tell people is; here is a man that came from hell and I'm here today to come and tell you it's burning there. They don't need to make my mistakes to learn from my mistakes,” confesses the 6ft-plus, strongly built author of Choice who had previously found hunger and greed reason enough to resign his fate to violent crime.When asked what at all could motivate a man to attempt 'sins' such as robbing security-conscious and heavily guarded banks, McKenzie gave what appeared to be his well-rehearsed maxim; “A hungry stomach believes no rules. A greedy stomach respects no rules. I was both. Hungry and greedy and I tell you my brother, if you are hungry and greedy, there is nothing that you will see as a danger to life, that is why I robbed banks, just the lure of good money.”Certainly McKenzie cannot be proud of his violent past and he is not, but he insists he is a fulfilled man today for what ends he is putting his energies.“I am not an angel as I sit here, but I am a fulfilled person and greatly blessed by God. I have no regrets, my only regret is that I will not be able to reach out to every prisoner before I die.”For this reason McKenzie urges all hands on deck, “Because people have this tendency of saying I do not have a child in prison. I don't have a family member in prison. Yea, today you might not have a child in prison, today you might not have a family member in prison, but tomorrow, your child might go to prison, or your family member, or still yourself can end up in prison.” “I've seen two million school children in my five years. I have seen thousands of corporates. I've seen thousands of drug addicts. I've seen thousands of apprentice criminals and I've helped many of them, and I stand in front of you, my brother, to tell you that the only reason why I could help them was because I was helped. So help your neighbour, be your brother's keeper because today you're giving help, tomorrow you might need help.”Need to fight crime betterMcKenzie fears society is not doing enough to fight crime, and people and programmes that can effect a positive redirection from the menace are looking to the wrong people. Why do churches continue preaching to the converted every Sunday and fail to take the word of God to the prisons? Why won't business people take their skill into jails to mentor criminals to become entrepreneurs? And why won't women take that God-given motherly, tenderly love to the jails to tell inmates that they are loved?In McKenzie's view, prisons are at the heartbeat of crime and leaving them out of the fight against crime is a big joke.“African leaders must wake up to the fact that gone are the days when prisoners had to just sit down in prison and wait for the date of release… There are prisoners that have skill in jail, those without skills let them be thought skills… The problem I have is that people are so negative, people do not believe in themselves. Here I am, not better than all the other ex-prisoners, I just had better opportunities, and I mention this to everybody out there whether you are a prisoner or not, because we all have our prisons - your prison might not be my prison. My prison was steel bars, yours might be marriage, your prison might be a prison of the mind, your prison might be of insecurities. So what I'm saying to you is that it is time to unlock that prison and get out to be free, be free not only in mind but in spirit and in deed.”Are you a sorry ex-prisoner?McKenzie says there is no need to feel sorry for yourself. It will destroy and keep you deeper in a new, more frightful prison. Feeling sorry “was my worst crime. I felt sorry for myself right from the beginning and I realised this feel of sorry for myself is taking me absolutely nowhere. It's time to act, it's time to do good, it's time to give back to society. “No prisoner need to come out of jail and feel sorry and complain that nobody wants to give them jobs. For Christ's sake you committed a crime and if you did that against mankind, against humanity, you can't expect the people to wait for you with open arms. The onus is on you the ex-prisoner to show why you should be given a second chance. You should come out here and clean your neighbour's yard without payment. You should do the menial task, you should be the man that they send to shop, they should see trust all over you, they should not see you hanging out with the same friends with whom you committed crime.“And that is why I keep telling people, I am here not because I am clever. I am here because I never ever gave up hope. There is one way that I describe my success - that here you have a guy that never said never. I went on, I persevered, I conquered, and today, you see a man that has conquered what he wanted to achieve and still be very hungry for more.”McKenzie does not believe his efforts will change the whole world. That would be a foolish wish, he says. He is just happy, in the meantime, doing what he does and intends to continue, hopefully eternally. [Herbert Mensah met Gayton McKenzie in Greece, in April of 2008, during a JAG Sports & Education Foundation event and after listening to his dramatic story, set in motion by the nine-hour bloody rape of a South African white minor in prison, decided that Ghanaian youths can also make use of his experiences. A chapter of the Foundation is to be established in Ghana.]
Gayton McKenzie inspires Eric Edelstein with “The Choice”
On friday morning at the V&A Waterfront, after watching the movie “Perfect Stranger” (which I haven’t blogged about, but is worth catching), my JHB friends Ilana & Lara, wanted to do some shopping at woolworths.
Within 5 minutes I was bored, and told them I’d meet them at CNA. While browsing the magazines, my eye caught a book. I’m not sure if it was the picture on the cover of a prisoner, or the gold sticker which said “Signed by the Author”, but I picked it up, and saw it had been signed personally by the author.
“It’s never to late! GMC”
I don’t know what prompted me to buy “The Choice - the Gayton McKenzie Story”, as i’ve got a long list of books on my shelf waiting to be read, but some voice deep inside me told me that I needed to read it.
When I met the girls a few minutes later with my purchase, I could only tell them that the author had spelt the word “too” incorrectly. I also had a jarring feeling that I was contributing to a criminal by buying his autobiography.
BUY THIS BOOK!
Often books lie around my place for years on end, and some have never been read, but I started the Gayton McKenzie story immediately, and a few days later, I’ve finished the book, but realised that the challenge is only just beginning.
For those that don’t know who Gayton McKenzie is, he was a hardened criminal who continued his ways in Gaol, and then turned his life around, exposed the corruption in the prisons, and now spends his time motivating kids to try keep them out of crime.
You can see more about Gayton at the Gayton McKenzie website.
Gayton, what you did was remarkable, and I look forward to meeting you.
Think this article should be read by others?
Tags: out & about
20 responses so far ↓
1 Max Kaizen // May 2, 2007 at 8:53 am
WOW!! thanks for the discovery EE ..great brand-sponsorship with Chubb. I’d love to meet him.
2 Brian Wells // Oct 3, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I would like to know how to get in contact with Gayton. I have published my first book and now going to finish my second book and 3rd book. I am the founder of Brian Wells Writers Book Club. I will be hosting an awards day and I would like to have Gayton there as one of my private guests. I would like you to just give Gayton my website. He will know why. Thanks
3 olga maloka // Dec 2, 2008 at 4:26 pm
I want to speak to Gayton . please help me to get his conduct details
4 Vulani // Jan 20, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I would like to know more about Gayton’s publishing company. I am writing my first book and I was wondering if he cannot assist in getting it published.
5 Earl Smiles // Jan 29, 2009 at 10:20 am
Hi Eric, after reading your review of Gayton I was wondering if I could send you my book to read entitled pursuit for happiness by Earl Smiles. This book is based on my own life story. The difference is i am not public figure but I do think I have story to tell. If interested please forward me you mail so that I may send you a copy.
6 Muuz Ngcolosi // Apr 27, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Gayton. You are such an inspiration. I listen to your talk at the IFA function at Emperors Palace. Also listen to you in one talk show in SA FM. I was telling my wife that it easy to say to people “you can do it”. Many people say that, but when you say it, its like it has a different meaning. It has a pragmatic feel it. Well Done!!
7 Pritima Osman // Apr 28, 2009 at 2:03 pm
i would like to get in touch with Gayton McKenzie. please pass on my email address.Thanks
8 KARABO // May 27, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Hi ya’ll, im such a big fan of the legendary GAYTON MCKHENZIE. When he came to our school in 2007 and i was doing grade 11, his story realy touched me, thinking that a guy like him uses to be engaged in crime and he never really gived a bull about things surrounding him. anyway i wish you can come to the UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG and give us the children of the future what we really have to get which is guidence and the benefit of the doubt that not to do things that will never get you any where but 6 feet undre or doing time. Id like to say thanks GAYTON for being such an insipiration in my life and on this coming tuesday Ill be doing a presentation on my hero which is ofcos you. and agaun thank you and keep up the good and mavelous work. Love Karabo Masemola
9 Debra Vercueil // Jul 28, 2009 at 11:22 am
I last emailled Gayton about a year ago and would like to get in touch with him again regarding a promise he made .Please pass on my email address .Thanks
10 rodney nxumalo // Jul 28, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Hello GaytonI recently read your book “the choice’ and it was such a good read. I related to your story-line based on the things that took place in your life. I live in the rural areas where to most people it looks like there is no crime at all. I know most people who are trapped in the high life of crime but after reading the book I realised most had not seen enough. As a ex-policeman I related to the things that took place in prison and I would agreed that the good men will always be projected as the worse ones, the corrupt one. I hope you are still motivating not only people who are involved in crime, but the public in general.Let’s hope the movie about your life is coming soon, and please it should start at cinemas and not on the street.
Hope to be in touch soon.You inspire a lot.Rodney NxumaloKZN- Margate
11 Eric // Aug 20, 2009 at 11:28 pm
heya everyone. unfortunately i can’t help with all the requests for Gayton’s contact details - I don’t know him personally, i just enjoyed reading his book - that’s why i wrote about it.
12 Gideon // Aug 24, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Gayton your book is fantastic..Charles Cilliers has done a good job on you…I am The HOD of Life Orientation In One of the so called Juvinnile Schools in Cullinan near Pretoria.
The School is Housed inside the Premises of the Dep of Social Services… Please please please make time and visit School. your Presence will be Highly Appreciated..
I aslo think that your Book should be Modified if Possible be Prescribed in High School as part of Literature.
Your Book has so much weight that it can no longer afford the luxury of posing in books stores in the Malls…it should go where it is supposed to go..the schools.
I hope you understand what I am saying. The Choice must be read by learners. they are the poeple who will most benifit.
Gideon.
13 bertino // Oct 12, 2009 at 5:23 pm
the choice is by far the best south african book ive read this year and i truly think that gayton mckenzie is the man that should lead our youth cos these others are a waste of time peeriod.and anyone knows how i can get hold of gayton just let me know this is my email address.bertinow@yahoo.com
14 Michelle // Dec 22, 2009 at 3:55 pm
I have looked all over for Gayton McKenzie’s book - The Choice and cant find it anywhere, he is truly an inspiration to all.
Please help and tell me where can i find his book!
He came to my school a long time ago and since then ive been trying to get my hands on the book
15 Muzi Ngwenya // Jan 18, 2010 at 4:29 pm
Dear Gayton [Hosh Ndoda]
I have just finished reading your book [which I knew about for years, but somehow ignored buying it]. I bought it four days ago… and I simply couln’t put it down. Well done to all of your team. I am overwhelmed by your story.
I have never been into “crime” - in the common sense of the word. Other than not paying my traffic fines and my TV license.
I do a lot of work with communities in Mpumalanga. As a result, I see a lot of possible future trouble with [mainly] the youth abusing alcohol and drugs.
Because it is impossible to be in every square metre of our country [both yourself and many other motivators/role models], may I ask you to start thinking about doing a TV Show. Somethng more or less the same like Zola7, but focusing on crime and drug abuse. I believe this will have a far reaching impact than you attempting to be with everyone [physically].
Once again, a Big, Big Hug from me Brother…
Muzi
16 Lisha Kekana // Apr 8, 2010 at 9:56 am
Hi im Lisha an 18 year old girl attending Ferndale high school in Randburg.I learnt about Gayton whilst in primary school,grade 7,and i had never heard of such a life changing story before.Since then i started hearing more and more about him and eventually found out that he had a book.I made the choice to buy that book and indeed I was inspired.Ive made all my friends and family members read it,Ive even read it to my teacher.What Gayton went through was horrible.One would say that after all the things that he had done he deserved what happened to him,but does he really.I dont think that he deserved it,I dont think that anyone deserves to go through such.Gayton is a hero and I believe that there are a million more Gaytons out there who are just not heard about.I salute you Mr Mckenzie,you are indeed one in a million!
17 annelize // Apr 11, 2010 at 9:42 pm
hi, i have read “the choice” in 2007, it took me 2 days to read it as i just could not put it down. being the same age as gayton, i can admit that up untill this day, i have never ever came in contact with drug, crime and so many un-mentioned things that gayton witnessed through out his life. i really think that “the choice” is an eye opener for so many people like me, that haven’t come in contact with the tough side of life. thank you gayton for sharing your story with us, and doing the right thing at the end…
18 judith du plessis // Apr 23, 2010 at 12:58 pm
i have been to prison nine times in the course of thirteen years due to heroin abuse and lived on the streets of hillbrow for four,I am now clean and have a two year old boy.I found gaytons story very moving and inspirational and would like to e mail him.
19 Andrew Fick // Jun 4, 2010 at 5:06 pm
I haven’t read his book yet, but a few of us met up with Gayton on Saturday in JHB by chance……what a fantastic guy. We didn’t know him for a bar of soap and he took a whole group of us into Soweto, entertained us, escorted us to the Super 14 finals match and then transported us back home. What an unbelievable guy!!!
20 Sibulele Magula // Aug 12, 2010 at 9:06 am
This is such an inspiring book, I mean at15 this book made me to see life in a different angle, wow Gayton your my inspiration.I admire you.
Within 5 minutes I was bored, and told them I’d meet them at CNA. While browsing the magazines, my eye caught a book. I’m not sure if it was the picture on the cover of a prisoner, or the gold sticker which said “Signed by the Author”, but I picked it up, and saw it had been signed personally by the author.
“It’s never to late! GMC”
I don’t know what prompted me to buy “The Choice - the Gayton McKenzie Story”, as i’ve got a long list of books on my shelf waiting to be read, but some voice deep inside me told me that I needed to read it.
When I met the girls a few minutes later with my purchase, I could only tell them that the author had spelt the word “too” incorrectly. I also had a jarring feeling that I was contributing to a criminal by buying his autobiography.
BUY THIS BOOK!
Often books lie around my place for years on end, and some have never been read, but I started the Gayton McKenzie story immediately, and a few days later, I’ve finished the book, but realised that the challenge is only just beginning.
For those that don’t know who Gayton McKenzie is, he was a hardened criminal who continued his ways in Gaol, and then turned his life around, exposed the corruption in the prisons, and now spends his time motivating kids to try keep them out of crime.
You can see more about Gayton at the Gayton McKenzie website.
Gayton, what you did was remarkable, and I look forward to meeting you.
Think this article should be read by others?
Tags: out & about
20 responses so far ↓
1 Max Kaizen // May 2, 2007 at 8:53 am
WOW!! thanks for the discovery EE ..great brand-sponsorship with Chubb. I’d love to meet him.
2 Brian Wells // Oct 3, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I would like to know how to get in contact with Gayton. I have published my first book and now going to finish my second book and 3rd book. I am the founder of Brian Wells Writers Book Club. I will be hosting an awards day and I would like to have Gayton there as one of my private guests. I would like you to just give Gayton my website. He will know why. Thanks
3 olga maloka // Dec 2, 2008 at 4:26 pm
I want to speak to Gayton . please help me to get his conduct details
4 Vulani // Jan 20, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I would like to know more about Gayton’s publishing company. I am writing my first book and I was wondering if he cannot assist in getting it published.
5 Earl Smiles // Jan 29, 2009 at 10:20 am
Hi Eric, after reading your review of Gayton I was wondering if I could send you my book to read entitled pursuit for happiness by Earl Smiles. This book is based on my own life story. The difference is i am not public figure but I do think I have story to tell. If interested please forward me you mail so that I may send you a copy.
6 Muuz Ngcolosi // Apr 27, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Gayton. You are such an inspiration. I listen to your talk at the IFA function at Emperors Palace. Also listen to you in one talk show in SA FM. I was telling my wife that it easy to say to people “you can do it”. Many people say that, but when you say it, its like it has a different meaning. It has a pragmatic feel it. Well Done!!
7 Pritima Osman // Apr 28, 2009 at 2:03 pm
i would like to get in touch with Gayton McKenzie. please pass on my email address.Thanks
8 KARABO // May 27, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Hi ya’ll, im such a big fan of the legendary GAYTON MCKHENZIE. When he came to our school in 2007 and i was doing grade 11, his story realy touched me, thinking that a guy like him uses to be engaged in crime and he never really gived a bull about things surrounding him. anyway i wish you can come to the UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG and give us the children of the future what we really have to get which is guidence and the benefit of the doubt that not to do things that will never get you any where but 6 feet undre or doing time. Id like to say thanks GAYTON for being such an insipiration in my life and on this coming tuesday Ill be doing a presentation on my hero which is ofcos you. and agaun thank you and keep up the good and mavelous work. Love Karabo Masemola
9 Debra Vercueil // Jul 28, 2009 at 11:22 am
I last emailled Gayton about a year ago and would like to get in touch with him again regarding a promise he made .Please pass on my email address .Thanks
10 rodney nxumalo // Jul 28, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Hello GaytonI recently read your book “the choice’ and it was such a good read. I related to your story-line based on the things that took place in your life. I live in the rural areas where to most people it looks like there is no crime at all. I know most people who are trapped in the high life of crime but after reading the book I realised most had not seen enough. As a ex-policeman I related to the things that took place in prison and I would agreed that the good men will always be projected as the worse ones, the corrupt one. I hope you are still motivating not only people who are involved in crime, but the public in general.Let’s hope the movie about your life is coming soon, and please it should start at cinemas and not on the street.
Hope to be in touch soon.You inspire a lot.Rodney NxumaloKZN- Margate
11 Eric // Aug 20, 2009 at 11:28 pm
heya everyone. unfortunately i can’t help with all the requests for Gayton’s contact details - I don’t know him personally, i just enjoyed reading his book - that’s why i wrote about it.
12 Gideon // Aug 24, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Gayton your book is fantastic..Charles Cilliers has done a good job on you…I am The HOD of Life Orientation In One of the so called Juvinnile Schools in Cullinan near Pretoria.
The School is Housed inside the Premises of the Dep of Social Services… Please please please make time and visit School. your Presence will be Highly Appreciated..
I aslo think that your Book should be Modified if Possible be Prescribed in High School as part of Literature.
Your Book has so much weight that it can no longer afford the luxury of posing in books stores in the Malls…it should go where it is supposed to go..the schools.
I hope you understand what I am saying. The Choice must be read by learners. they are the poeple who will most benifit.
Gideon.
13 bertino // Oct 12, 2009 at 5:23 pm
the choice is by far the best south african book ive read this year and i truly think that gayton mckenzie is the man that should lead our youth cos these others are a waste of time peeriod.and anyone knows how i can get hold of gayton just let me know this is my email address.bertinow@yahoo.com
14 Michelle // Dec 22, 2009 at 3:55 pm
I have looked all over for Gayton McKenzie’s book - The Choice and cant find it anywhere, he is truly an inspiration to all.
Please help and tell me where can i find his book!
He came to my school a long time ago and since then ive been trying to get my hands on the book
15 Muzi Ngwenya // Jan 18, 2010 at 4:29 pm
Dear Gayton [Hosh Ndoda]
I have just finished reading your book [which I knew about for years, but somehow ignored buying it]. I bought it four days ago… and I simply couln’t put it down. Well done to all of your team. I am overwhelmed by your story.
I have never been into “crime” - in the common sense of the word. Other than not paying my traffic fines and my TV license.
I do a lot of work with communities in Mpumalanga. As a result, I see a lot of possible future trouble with [mainly] the youth abusing alcohol and drugs.
Because it is impossible to be in every square metre of our country [both yourself and many other motivators/role models], may I ask you to start thinking about doing a TV Show. Somethng more or less the same like Zola7, but focusing on crime and drug abuse. I believe this will have a far reaching impact than you attempting to be with everyone [physically].
Once again, a Big, Big Hug from me Brother…
Muzi
16 Lisha Kekana // Apr 8, 2010 at 9:56 am
Hi im Lisha an 18 year old girl attending Ferndale high school in Randburg.I learnt about Gayton whilst in primary school,grade 7,and i had never heard of such a life changing story before.Since then i started hearing more and more about him and eventually found out that he had a book.I made the choice to buy that book and indeed I was inspired.Ive made all my friends and family members read it,Ive even read it to my teacher.What Gayton went through was horrible.One would say that after all the things that he had done he deserved what happened to him,but does he really.I dont think that he deserved it,I dont think that anyone deserves to go through such.Gayton is a hero and I believe that there are a million more Gaytons out there who are just not heard about.I salute you Mr Mckenzie,you are indeed one in a million!
17 annelize // Apr 11, 2010 at 9:42 pm
hi, i have read “the choice” in 2007, it took me 2 days to read it as i just could not put it down. being the same age as gayton, i can admit that up untill this day, i have never ever came in contact with drug, crime and so many un-mentioned things that gayton witnessed through out his life. i really think that “the choice” is an eye opener for so many people like me, that haven’t come in contact with the tough side of life. thank you gayton for sharing your story with us, and doing the right thing at the end…
18 judith du plessis // Apr 23, 2010 at 12:58 pm
i have been to prison nine times in the course of thirteen years due to heroin abuse and lived on the streets of hillbrow for four,I am now clean and have a two year old boy.I found gaytons story very moving and inspirational and would like to e mail him.
19 Andrew Fick // Jun 4, 2010 at 5:06 pm
I haven’t read his book yet, but a few of us met up with Gayton on Saturday in JHB by chance……what a fantastic guy. We didn’t know him for a bar of soap and he took a whole group of us into Soweto, entertained us, escorted us to the Super 14 finals match and then transported us back home. What an unbelievable guy!!!
20 Sibulele Magula // Aug 12, 2010 at 9:06 am
This is such an inspiring book, I mean at15 this book made me to see life in a different angle, wow Gayton your my inspiration.I admire you.
Gayton McKenzie Motivational Speaker
Gayton McKenzieMotivational Speaker
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, which inspired his best-selling autobiography The Choice. He has worked with various corporate sponsors such as Chubb and Nike, and as the spokesperson for the JAG Sports and Education Foundation which is bringing hope to kids in underprivileged areas. He has been very successful over the past two years in building his own business profile: currently, with his business partners, he owns ZAR Lounge in Sandton and has been laying the foundations for a strong venture capital company with investments in mining and energy projects in Africa. He is a valued consultant in the SA mining industry, his strength primarily in stakeholder relationships.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 rovince.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 the advocate he met while still in jail, after 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 three years in a row by the New Beginnings Group.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 youGayton’s talks are extremely 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.
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, which inspired his best-selling autobiography The Choice. He has worked with various corporate sponsors such as Chubb and Nike, and as the spokesperson for the JAG Sports and Education Foundation which is bringing hope to kids in underprivileged areas. He has been very successful over the past two years in building his own business profile: currently, with his business partners, he owns ZAR Lounge in Sandton and has been laying the foundations for a strong venture capital company with investments in mining and energy projects in Africa. He is a valued consultant in the SA mining industry, his strength primarily in stakeholder relationships.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 rovince.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 the advocate he met while still in jail, after 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 three years in a row by the New Beginnings Group.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 youGayton’s talks are extremely 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.
Gayton Mckenzie Story-From A Bank Robber to a Multimillionaire
Profile: Gayton McKenzie
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 early next 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.
BACKGROUND HISTORY:
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 the 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 extremely 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.
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 early next 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.
BACKGROUND HISTORY:
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 the 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 extremely 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.
Jail rape melted the ice in brutal gangster's heart -Gayton McKenzie
He was top dog until he witnessed a child being abused - and decided to help, writes Suthentira Govender Nov 13, 2005 12:00 AM By unknown
CHANGED MAN: One-time gang boss Gayton McKenzie who filmed acts of corruption in grootvlei Prison after his crisis of conscience. Pic: Richard Shorey. 4/11/05. � SUNDAY TIMES.
'I was South Africa's worst nightmare. I didn't give a damn. I was young, I was black and I didn't give a f***' Jacob Zuma
WHEN Gayton McKenzie stared into the helpless eyes of a 14-year-old victim of a violent rape in Grootvlei Prison, the fearless, power-hungry gangster in him died forever.
For seven years McKenzie had witnessed violent crimes committed inside the walls of the Bloemfontein prison. But helping the bleeding youngster who had been raped by 18 inmates spelt a Damascene conversion for McKenzie.
"At that very moment," says McKenzie, "I became sick of crime, sick of all the rapes and robberies. I wanted to change my life."
A couple of weeks later he convinced three other inmates to help him film the routine rapes and other illicit activities in the prison.
The secret video they released blew the lid on what was later to become the most sensational proof of corruption among prison gangs, warders and inmates.
McKenzie was released from prison after serving seven years of a 15-year sentence for armed robbery shortly after the release of his sensational video. Today he is possibly the most sought-after motivational speaker in the country, his diary filled for the whole year with engagements at schools and companies.
Perhaps it's the roughness he still shows at the edges and his ability to talk from the heart that grabs attention as he tells his life story.
"I'm an in-your-face guy and that's what gets through to the kids," he says.
McKenzie's motivational talks are sponsored by Chubb Electronic Security - the very people he had to duck during his days as a bank robber and gangster.
Chubb's managing director, Stephen Mundy, describes McKenzie as an orator who tells his story with no holds barred.
"For kids it is much more powerful to hear it from somebody who has been there and came out the other side," says Mundy.
"He is doing a noble thing using his life story to prevent others from falling into the same traps he did."
McKenzie's 31-year life story sounds like a Hollywood script. It is difficult to reconcile it with his middle-class upbringing in Heidedal, a small coloured township in Bloemfontein. He claims his parents were strict and that he excelled at school.
But his attention was soon caught by flashy gangsters who ran the township.
The impressionable youngster joined the Americans - starting off as a messenger and graduating to a career that was to lead him to the top of the prison gangs at Grootvlei.
While his friends were making a meagre R10 a week working at the local café, McKenzie was raking in R150 a week with the Americans. Soon he became a full-blown gangster, earning his stripes by staging his first bank robbery at the age of 16.
He started living the high life, buying fancy cars and booking into five-star hotels. When he ran short of money he simply robbed a bank.
He is frank about how big heists and robberies are committed.
"Let me tell you something ... There is no big crime in South Africa that takes place without insiders being involved," he says.
McKenzie is hardly ashamed of his notoriety. "I was South Africa's worst nightmare. I didn't give a damn. I was young, I was black and I didn't give a f***," he says.
McKenzie's crime spree came to an end in 1996 when an accomplice ratted on him to the police. He was sentenced to 15 years in Grootvlei Prison. But prison was like getting his postgraduate degree and confirming his colours as a gangster.
He made his presence felt the very first day he walked into Grootvlei.
"The first thing I did when I walked into prison was find out who was the most powerful prisoner. I walked up to him and hit him. I kicked him in the face."
McKenzie was put into solitary confinement. "When I got out of solitary confinement, everybody was scared of me. I had made my point."
He immediately joined the 26 gang in prison, becoming the most powerful and feared prisoner. This gave him the chance to make even more money by selling drugs and anything that could be sold in prison.
"If food was being sold I would get a share from the sales. We ran the prison like a business," he said.
McKenzie led a life of ease in prison, making money on the side and often manipulating warders to get what he wanted.
But his road to Damascus is clearly imprinted in his mind: the prison's 28 gang crammed on the boy like vultures, beating and raping him.
"He cried, he screamed, he begged, then he started to pray. They raped that child continuously for nine hours. I have never seen so much blood in my life."
But still McKenzie was unmoved - until the next day when he was on his way to the bathroom.
"Have you ever looked into the eyes of a young boy who has been raped by 18 men? It was never my intention ... I never wanted to help this boy."
It was part of gang culture not to interfere with another gang, but something about the boy made McKenzie break the rules. He knew it could lead to his own death, yet for the first time in 27 years, the hardened McKenzie contemplated doing something moral.
"I picked the boy up at great risk to my own life and took him to the warders. As I walked with this helpless child in my hands I thought to myself: 'This must stop.'"
The warders refused to help, treating the rape as a joke.
"I tried to lobby influential people on the outside, but nobody wanted to believe me about what was going on in this prison."
It was then that McKenzie decided he was going to make a secret video to expose illicit activities at the prison.
His best friend, who had robbed banks with him, begged him not to carry out his plan. But McKenzie was determined and roped in a few other prisoners.
"It was very easy to smuggle video cameras in. My mother hid the cameras in the coffee and Cremora," says McKenzie.
"I sent a warder to pick up my groceries. Little did he know he was bringing in the cameras."
McKenzie and his accomplices knew the risk of making the video. If the warders detected the cameras "it meant death on the spot".
They hid the cameras in tea boxes at strategic spots to capture the corruption.
"We hardly slept at night; we edited most of the night. We all fought like crazy, but we worked for a common cause of exposing these warders for what they really were."
They sent the footage to the Office of the President and the Jali Commission of Inquiry, which was investigating corruption at prisons.
"The commission sent advocate Nicolette Joubert to interview us. I later married that woman. I usually get very angry when people say the government is doing nothing for the people - hey, they sent me a wife," McKenzie quipped.
He spent a hellish year in prison before being released under President Thabo Mbeki's presidential remission as he had already served seven years of his sentence.
"I had the opportunity to convert to correctional supervision. But then I thought about my fellow prisoners who helped me make the video. I could not leave them behind so I decided to stick it out."
It was the hardest year of McKenzie's life. "The corrupt warders wanted to kill me and two prison gangs had ordered death sentences on me. That was the price I had to pay for making that video."
When he was released from prison in 2003, McKenzie's romanticised view of the outside quickly faded away. Rejection by society made him feel like going back to prison; nobody wanted to take a chance on a hardened ex-convict.
That was until a language school teacher, Ria de Villiers, spotted McKenzie's talent as a motivational speaker.
"She sent me to her good friend Pieter-Dirk Uys, better known as Evita. He asked me to make a speech.
"He told me I was a natural and asked me to start speaking at schools in Cape Town. That is how I got started."
Since then, McKenzie has dedicated himself to fighting against crime and corruption.
One of his appearances was seen by Chubb representatives, who saw the value of his work and decided to sponsor his talks.
"I am like a rock star when I go to schools. The kids really look up to me," he says.
"I'm not your normal speaker. I tell the children I've been there and this is what you have to face if you turn to a life of crime.
"I don't beat around the bush. I've grown so much ... I just tell my story. But I also tell people that you can change no matter what your situation."
McKenzie is putting the final touches to his autobiography, The Choice, due for release early next year.
It has been ghost-written by a South African author living in London. "It's a tell-all tale of Gayton McKenzie, the gangster, the prisoner and now the reformed man with a message," McKenzie says.
He is also involved in discussions with Britain's Channel 4, which is keen to buy the rights to his life story
CHANGED MAN: One-time gang boss Gayton McKenzie who filmed acts of corruption in grootvlei Prison after his crisis of conscience. Pic: Richard Shorey. 4/11/05. � SUNDAY TIMES.
'I was South Africa's worst nightmare. I didn't give a damn. I was young, I was black and I didn't give a f***' Jacob Zuma
WHEN Gayton McKenzie stared into the helpless eyes of a 14-year-old victim of a violent rape in Grootvlei Prison, the fearless, power-hungry gangster in him died forever.
For seven years McKenzie had witnessed violent crimes committed inside the walls of the Bloemfontein prison. But helping the bleeding youngster who had been raped by 18 inmates spelt a Damascene conversion for McKenzie.
"At that very moment," says McKenzie, "I became sick of crime, sick of all the rapes and robberies. I wanted to change my life."
A couple of weeks later he convinced three other inmates to help him film the routine rapes and other illicit activities in the prison.
The secret video they released blew the lid on what was later to become the most sensational proof of corruption among prison gangs, warders and inmates.
McKenzie was released from prison after serving seven years of a 15-year sentence for armed robbery shortly after the release of his sensational video. Today he is possibly the most sought-after motivational speaker in the country, his diary filled for the whole year with engagements at schools and companies.
Perhaps it's the roughness he still shows at the edges and his ability to talk from the heart that grabs attention as he tells his life story.
"I'm an in-your-face guy and that's what gets through to the kids," he says.
McKenzie's motivational talks are sponsored by Chubb Electronic Security - the very people he had to duck during his days as a bank robber and gangster.
Chubb's managing director, Stephen Mundy, describes McKenzie as an orator who tells his story with no holds barred.
"For kids it is much more powerful to hear it from somebody who has been there and came out the other side," says Mundy.
"He is doing a noble thing using his life story to prevent others from falling into the same traps he did."
McKenzie's 31-year life story sounds like a Hollywood script. It is difficult to reconcile it with his middle-class upbringing in Heidedal, a small coloured township in Bloemfontein. He claims his parents were strict and that he excelled at school.
But his attention was soon caught by flashy gangsters who ran the township.
The impressionable youngster joined the Americans - starting off as a messenger and graduating to a career that was to lead him to the top of the prison gangs at Grootvlei.
While his friends were making a meagre R10 a week working at the local café, McKenzie was raking in R150 a week with the Americans. Soon he became a full-blown gangster, earning his stripes by staging his first bank robbery at the age of 16.
He started living the high life, buying fancy cars and booking into five-star hotels. When he ran short of money he simply robbed a bank.
He is frank about how big heists and robberies are committed.
"Let me tell you something ... There is no big crime in South Africa that takes place without insiders being involved," he says.
McKenzie is hardly ashamed of his notoriety. "I was South Africa's worst nightmare. I didn't give a damn. I was young, I was black and I didn't give a f***," he says.
McKenzie's crime spree came to an end in 1996 when an accomplice ratted on him to the police. He was sentenced to 15 years in Grootvlei Prison. But prison was like getting his postgraduate degree and confirming his colours as a gangster.
He made his presence felt the very first day he walked into Grootvlei.
"The first thing I did when I walked into prison was find out who was the most powerful prisoner. I walked up to him and hit him. I kicked him in the face."
McKenzie was put into solitary confinement. "When I got out of solitary confinement, everybody was scared of me. I had made my point."
He immediately joined the 26 gang in prison, becoming the most powerful and feared prisoner. This gave him the chance to make even more money by selling drugs and anything that could be sold in prison.
"If food was being sold I would get a share from the sales. We ran the prison like a business," he said.
McKenzie led a life of ease in prison, making money on the side and often manipulating warders to get what he wanted.
But his road to Damascus is clearly imprinted in his mind: the prison's 28 gang crammed on the boy like vultures, beating and raping him.
"He cried, he screamed, he begged, then he started to pray. They raped that child continuously for nine hours. I have never seen so much blood in my life."
But still McKenzie was unmoved - until the next day when he was on his way to the bathroom.
"Have you ever looked into the eyes of a young boy who has been raped by 18 men? It was never my intention ... I never wanted to help this boy."
It was part of gang culture not to interfere with another gang, but something about the boy made McKenzie break the rules. He knew it could lead to his own death, yet for the first time in 27 years, the hardened McKenzie contemplated doing something moral.
"I picked the boy up at great risk to my own life and took him to the warders. As I walked with this helpless child in my hands I thought to myself: 'This must stop.'"
The warders refused to help, treating the rape as a joke.
"I tried to lobby influential people on the outside, but nobody wanted to believe me about what was going on in this prison."
It was then that McKenzie decided he was going to make a secret video to expose illicit activities at the prison.
His best friend, who had robbed banks with him, begged him not to carry out his plan. But McKenzie was determined and roped in a few other prisoners.
"It was very easy to smuggle video cameras in. My mother hid the cameras in the coffee and Cremora," says McKenzie.
"I sent a warder to pick up my groceries. Little did he know he was bringing in the cameras."
McKenzie and his accomplices knew the risk of making the video. If the warders detected the cameras "it meant death on the spot".
They hid the cameras in tea boxes at strategic spots to capture the corruption.
"We hardly slept at night; we edited most of the night. We all fought like crazy, but we worked for a common cause of exposing these warders for what they really were."
They sent the footage to the Office of the President and the Jali Commission of Inquiry, which was investigating corruption at prisons.
"The commission sent advocate Nicolette Joubert to interview us. I later married that woman. I usually get very angry when people say the government is doing nothing for the people - hey, they sent me a wife," McKenzie quipped.
He spent a hellish year in prison before being released under President Thabo Mbeki's presidential remission as he had already served seven years of his sentence.
"I had the opportunity to convert to correctional supervision. But then I thought about my fellow prisoners who helped me make the video. I could not leave them behind so I decided to stick it out."
It was the hardest year of McKenzie's life. "The corrupt warders wanted to kill me and two prison gangs had ordered death sentences on me. That was the price I had to pay for making that video."
When he was released from prison in 2003, McKenzie's romanticised view of the outside quickly faded away. Rejection by society made him feel like going back to prison; nobody wanted to take a chance on a hardened ex-convict.
That was until a language school teacher, Ria de Villiers, spotted McKenzie's talent as a motivational speaker.
"She sent me to her good friend Pieter-Dirk Uys, better known as Evita. He asked me to make a speech.
"He told me I was a natural and asked me to start speaking at schools in Cape Town. That is how I got started."
Since then, McKenzie has dedicated himself to fighting against crime and corruption.
One of his appearances was seen by Chubb representatives, who saw the value of his work and decided to sponsor his talks.
"I am like a rock star when I go to schools. The kids really look up to me," he says.
"I'm not your normal speaker. I tell the children I've been there and this is what you have to face if you turn to a life of crime.
"I don't beat around the bush. I've grown so much ... I just tell my story. But I also tell people that you can change no matter what your situation."
McKenzie is putting the final touches to his autobiography, The Choice, due for release early next year.
It has been ghost-written by a South African author living in London. "It's a tell-all tale of Gayton McKenzie, the gangster, the prisoner and now the reformed man with a message," McKenzie says.
He is also involved in discussions with Britain's Channel 4, which is keen to buy the rights to his life story
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