Kenny Kunene ‘Enjoys Gang Rape’

Kenny Kunene has been out and about leaving dropped jaws and controversy along his trail. Kunene, wealthy socialite, entertainer and businessman, has been very open about his sexual prowess lately. Some believe that this is his attempt to divert attention from speculation that his business empire is in financial difficulty.

A week ago, the ‘Sushi King’ was a guest on 3Talk with Noeleen on SABC 3. This television talk show encourages public discussion about current affairs and issues of public interest.  Kenny Kunene, who got his nickname by eating sushi off the bodies of attractive women in bikini’s, brought five of his girlfriends to the set. In all, he said that he has a total of 15 girlfriends.

Kunene has iconic status among youngsters who subscribe to the ‘Izikhothane’ lifestyle. These are teenagers who are interested in displaying their ‘wealth’ by buying colourful, expensive outfits and throwing wild parties that are often concluded with a fiery destruction of the expensive clothing.

This past Saturday, Kunene was invited to be a guest on a trendy radio show with Phat Joe and co-host, Pearl Thusi on Metro FM. His remarks left a bitter taste in the mouths of listeners around the country. When asked if it wasn’t perhaps his financial situation that was attracting this bevy of women to his bed, Kenny replied that he has always had a way with the ladies. He added; “Women are easy.”

What infuriated the public, and women’s rights groups in particular, were his statements that even when he was a teacher with less money than he has now, he could still attract beautiful women, some of whom were his students who “might have been under the age of 16”. A shocked Pearl Thusi retorted by pointing out to Kunene that those actions translated into statutory rape. Instantly, Kunene agreed.

The Mail and Guardian released a report that soon after the radio interview, Kenny Kunene went on to Twitter to clarify that he had only said that he had had intercourse with girls who went to school and not children who were underage. He also told his followers that some of the schoolgirls he slept with were older than him.

Kunene remains unmoved in the aftermath of his controversial remarks. He responded to Mmusi Mmaimane’s article in the Sowetan by telling Mmaimane to focus his attention on sexually satisfying his wife before Kenny did it for him. Mmusi Mmaimane is the caucus leader in the Democratic Alliance.

The editor of FeministsSA and known women’s rights activist, Jen Thorpe, voiced her concern that Kunene was “seriously belittling the experiences of rape survivors” with his reckless attitude when it comes to gang rape. Kunene had previously tweeted that he had enjoyed a gang rape by women.

Kenny Kunene has not been charged with any sexual offence. Michelle Solomon survived a rape ordeal and is now actively involved in initiatives that support women whose rights have been violated. She is convinced that pursuing a legal course of action against Kunene would yield no positive results. Solomon figures it would be better to rather find ways to interact with people who look up to the ‘Sushi King’.