Gayton McKenzie: From blowing up cash trucks to owning mines

Gayton McKenzie, an accomplished businessman and politician in South Africa, is a reason to have faith in the Correctional Services rehabilitation programme.

GAYTON MCKENZIE OPENS UP ABOUT HIS REGRETFUL PAST

It is widely known that A Hustler’s Bible author Gayton McKenzie was a hardcore criminal before changing his life around after his release from prison.

Today, McKenzie, the President of Patriotic Alliance lives to tell bits of his stories to keep South Africans motivated.

“Today twenty years ago I showered put on a suit and tie and walked the prison corridors for the last time, many were happy, some sad and some laughed because of my choice of clothes, in my 10 years in jail I have not seen one prisoner leave wearing a suit and tie hence some found it extremely funny. I wore a suit as a statement to self, this is who I am going to be, I was intentional.”

Gayton McKenzie

ALSO READ: Gayton McKenzie shares 7 steps to fix blackouts

LEAVING JAIL WITH NOTHING ON OUTSIDE

Gayton says he walked out of jail with twelve rand (R12), he had no car, no house, no investments, and no bed to sleep on.

“I slept on the floor for 3 days until my father bought me a bed with his welfare cheque,” a grateful McKenzie said.

“I had so many opportunities to join and eventually take over the drug or car high jacking trade, I was invited to so many cash-in-transit robberies, I not only said no, I left Bloem where everyone knew my criminal ways. I started all over in Paarl in Cape Town,” he recalled his escape from gang life.

He went on to say he got a job that paid him one thousand a month at Chubb Security, “when I left Chubb I was earning 60 thousand because I excelled”.

“I joined Nike for a year, I left Nike and joined Central Rand Gold as an executive, and I became acting CEO when they were listed on JSE & London Main Board. I joined Goldfields as a consultant and decided to buy my own mine, I subsequently acquired more mines,” he listed.

THE FAILURES AND SUCCESSES IN BUSINESS

Speaking of his failures in business, Gayton McKenzie said, “I invested in arranging international acts to perform in Africa, I failed at that, I invested in cars to resell, I failed in that, I failed in so many businesses. If my memory serves me well, I failed in more than 20 ventures and succeeded wildly in three. I became a top author and publisher, one of the best in Africa”.

ALSO READ: “Let’s help you Eskom, send me” – Gayton McKenzie

“I found God and that led me to politics, we achieved great success in politics. I am out of jail 20 years today, every day for 20 years I have been reminded of my past, with every success, and every failure, my past was brought up, every single day. My haters shine the spotlight on my past and I held on to God. We live in an age where mental health is prevalent and it’s very easy to succumb to mental health problems, I survived only because of God,” he explained.

“Hold on to the promise of God, don’t let what they say about you define you, you are defined by Your Maker. I am not a good ex-prisoner, I am an ex-prisoner that met good people that helped me. I wanna thank each and every one who crossed my path and assisted and accepted my past, you saw me as a person worthy of a second chance, thank you,” the Mayor of the Central Karoo District Municipality said.