The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) will on Thursday institute proceedings at the Equality Court, in Gqeberha, against Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Renaldo Gouws for alleged racial utterances aired in online media posts.

In a video posted on social media, Gouws allegedly called for the killing of Black people using extremely “offensive and derogatory” language.

“This explicit content, initially published on his YouTube channel in March 2010, was archived despite being deleted and has resurfaced, revealing behaviour that is incompatible with the principles of dignity and equality enshrined in South African law,” said the SAHRC.

The SAHRC said given Gouw’s position as an MP, his alleged actions carried even greater weight and responsibility, as he was expected to uphold and embody the principles enshrined in the Constitution, including human dignity, equality, and non-discrimination.

The commission said it was tagged on social media by aggrieved citizens asking it to intervene in the matter, as it was empowered to do so by the South African Human Rights Commission Act, by bringing proceedings in a competent court or tribunal in its own name or on behalf of a person or a group or class of persons.

It highlighted that following its assessment of the content, it had concluded that utterances allegedly made by Gouws constituted hate speech and/or harassment as contemplated in terms of sections 10 and 11 of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 2000.

Gouws has since been removed from his duties with immediate effect while he faces disciplinary charges before the DA’s federal legal commission.