'I’m not English': Papa Penny defends himself over language struggles in parliament

MK Party MP Gezani Kobane, popularly known as Papa Penny, has defended himself after receiving backlash for struggling to articulate himself in English during a portfolio committee meeting on sport, arts and culture.

Kobane, who has no formal education, was appointed as an MP last year and is not fluent in English. His home language is Tsonga.

During the meeting, Kobane asked South African Football Association (Safa) officials questions about the fraud and mismanagement case involving Safa funds. However, this left many confused as to what he was trying to say, as he was struggling to pronounce some English words.

This sparked a debate on social media, with many users questioning the standard of parliament and how he was appointed as an MP.

Speaking to TimesLIVE, Kobane explained that he wrote his questions in Tsonga and had them translated for the meeting.

“The issue is not that I can’t speak English, it’s just not my home language, I’m not English,” he said.

He said he doesn't see anything wrong with not being able to speak English perfectly.

“I don't have to speak perfect English because I’m not English. I don’t see anything wrong with whether I’m able to speak English or not, but I’m more comfortable speaking my own language.”

Kobane said in future parliamentary meetings he plans to speak in his home language, Tsonga and expects parliament to provide translators.

“In future I won’t speak English in parliamentary meetings, I’ll speak my own language ... I want to use my language in parliament as we have 11 official languages.”

TimesLIVE