Kenny Kunene has left Julius Malema's EFF party - but he could return to the political arena on his own terms.
|||Cape Town - Sushi King Kenny Kunene says he may have hung up his beret, but this does not mean he won’t start his own political party.
But for now the flamboyant Kenny says he is focusing on the important things in life, like his new granddaughter.
The Daily Voice caught up with the entertainer and businessman at Cape Town International Airport on Wednesday evening before he jetted off to Johannesburg.
Wearing black jeans, a blue jacket and dark sunglasses, Kenny says he has no regrets about leaving politics, but that he may be back soon.
He left Julius Malema’s newly-launched Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) recently after less than two months with the new party.
“People thought my political career was over after I left the organisation [EFF], but I’m not out of politics,” Kenny tells the Daily Voice.
“I’m going to continue with being a businessman, so that when I come back to politics, I use my own money.
“Right now I have not decided which political party I’m going to join, but forming my own has not occurred to me until now.
“The focus is no longer on the finer things in life. I have lived, enjoyed the finest things life had to offer, I drank the most expensive whiskys and travelled around the world.
“I have been selfish, I can’t spend R100 000 on a bottle of whisky or Champagne anymore.
“But I still believe when you have worked hard you must also bless yourself nevertheless - don’t let not enjoying these things consume you.”
Kenny adds: “The change came over a long period of time, it started with my daughter’s pregnancy.
“I’m at a point where the cars, the Lamborghini (which I still own) don’t matter anymore. I still DJ a bit when people ask me to, I love music.
“But these days I always look forward to going home to my granddaughter who is about 14 days old.”
Kenny made headlines in the Daily Voice last month when he revealed he was working on a gangland peace plan with jailed former Hard Livings gang boss Rashied Staggie and other role players.
“What I’m doing in the Western Cape with the gangs is my way of trying to help find the root of the problem - but I don’t have a briefcase full of solutions,” Kenny says.
“I visited Rashied Staggie and we spoke. All I know is that I met a man who wants to go back to his family.
“I spent six years in prison, this month marks 10 years since my release, and a few days before I got out I remember my brother came to me, looked me in the eye and asked me if I was ready [to be released].
“And that is what I did for Rashied.”
He also agrees with the national government’s view that they must not deploy the army in gang hotspots, as requested by Premier Helen Zille.
“That is the most ridiculous request,” he says.
“We are saying our children must go through the trauma of tanks in the townships as if there are wars – this is not a war, what is happening in Syria is a war.
“The army is a temporary solution, what happens when they leave?
“Because they can’t be deployed here forever.”
Daily Voice