SA’s youngest MP a ‘hardworking go-getter’ preparing for bigger things

South Africa’s youngest MP, Cleo Wilskut, is being put through her paces in preparation for her new role in the National Assembly.

Patriotic Alliance (PA) deputy president Kenny Kunene told the Sunday Times this week that PA MPs — including Wilskut, 20, and Jasmine Petersen, 22 — were being given special training in areas such as media skills to groom them for their new public-facing roles.

“We want them to speak for themselves, so we’re traitning and preparing them,” Kunene said.

Wilskut’s Facebook account says she is a digital creator, but not much else is known about the young leader, who hails from Klipspruit West in Soweto, as she posts mainly about the political aspect of her life.

Wilskut this week shared pictures of her attending President Cyril Ramaphosa’s inauguration at the Union Buildings.

While many of Wilskut’s peers are studying, she will be taking part in debates in the National Assembly representing the PA, one of the success stories of the 2024 elections.

Wilskut was born on Freedom Day in 2004 — a decade after South Africa’s first democratic elections. 

The age difference between Wilskut and the oldest MP, the DA’s Chris Hattingh, 76, is 56 years.

There are only 12 MPs under the age of 29 in the current parliament.

Wilskut was sworn in just over a week ago as the youngest MP ever.

The previous record was held by Itumeleng Ntsube, from the Free State, who became South Africa’s youngest parliamentarian at the age of 20, eight months and one week when he was sworn in as a member of the National Council of Provinces on May 20 2019.

Wilskut was 20 years, one month and two weeks old when she took the oath as MP.

Her sister and PA Youth League president Devenay Rayners described her as a “flexible, hardworking go-getter blessed with the natural ability to communicate”.

“I’ve known Cleo all my life and watched her grow up. I am not surprised [she has become an MP] because I have worked closely with Cleo and she’s very determined and goes for what she wants,” Rayners said.

Rayners described her as “a politician at heart” who loved people and always wanted to contribute to making a difference in people’s lives.

“She has a way of reaching out to people ... to her peers as well as children. Cleo just loves people,” Rayners said.

She said Wilskut rolled up her sleeves to get involved in anything related to the needs of the community.

“You’ll see as time goes by that she has the ability to be flexible and is always learning. And if there’s anything people need, she’ll break her back [to get it],” Rayners said.

“During her school years, she used to participate in politics,” Rayners said.

You’ll see as time goes by that she has the ability to be flexible and is always learning. And if there’s anything people need, she’ll break her back [to get it]

—  Devenay Rayners

“Cleo has walked the streets of Eldorado Park and Klipspruit West all her life. PA president Gayton McKenzie has taken Cleo under his wing ... She’s very diverse and has worked in the Western Cape with Gayton and formed a special relationship with the people there,” Rayners said.

She believed Wilskut would be parliament’s “shining star”, and South Africans would be wowed by her ability to debate and articulate her point of view.

“Whatever task you give Cleo, she goes the extra mile ... She’s also about teaching people that we need to do things differently, because this is the 21st century,” Rayners said.

McKenzie, an ex-prisoner, has spoken about the PA’s decision to deploy Wilskut and Petersen to parliament, saying at their age he had been on his way to prison as a gangster.

“I went to jail at age 20, but they are going to parliament at age 20. We are breaking generational curses in our race,” he said.

“My best friend once said to me, ‘You have everything you want, so why are you going into politics?’

“I said, ‘I am going into politics to make sure my past doesn’t become the future of our youth.’”