New-acquired Siwelele FC chairman Calvin Le’John opens about about his a different surname from his father, Minister of Sports and Arts and Culture, Gayton Mckenzie.
Le’John has been in the public face since he purchased SuperSport United for a fee reported to be around R50 million, and also being the son of Patriotic Alliance president, Mckenzie.
With wild speculations about him using a different surname to that of his father, Le’John explained to Robert Marawa on Marawa Sports Worldwide show on radio 947 the reason why that is the case, and also how his father’s dark past had impact on his life.
“It doesn’t faze me. It doesn’t touch me because I grew up in an environment where my father was a prisoner, I grew up with it. People have always said a lot of stuff about him, but I guess it’s life,” Le’John tells Marawa.
“On the day I was born, my father was sentenced to 17 years in prison. My mother then decided that she is not gonna give her child the surname Mckenzie.
“She didn’t want her child to grow up with a surname of a prisoner, so she gave ne her surname, which is Le’John, and I never changed it back.
“Growing up I felt I am so blessed that I have got my mother’s surname because I do not have to live under my father’s shadow directly, so I don’t live with the title of “the son of Gayton Mckenzie” and I have never lived like that.
“I have always tried to live under the radar and to Twitter(X) I would to say not because I am running away from many things, I just wanted my peace and live in the shadows. That’s my entire life.”
He also touched on his wealth and how he makes it, by claiming that he is not a millionaire, but he got his inheritance from his father earlier than expected after his father was appointed as the minister.
Due to ministers not being allowed to do business, and in turn, Le’John was tasked in running his family businesses, which rages in different industries like mining, entertainment, hospitality, and transport.
While also confirming the purchase of SuperSport United for R50 million through an auction, he revealed how they also unsuccessfully auctioned for now-defunct Royal AM FC on two occasions.