DA suspends MP Renaldo Gouws over inflammatory videos

20th June 2024 By: Sashnee Moodley - Senior Deputy Editor Polity and Multimedia

DA suspends MP Renaldo Gouws over inflammatory videos

DA MP Renaldo Gouws

Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Renaldo Gouws has been immediately suspended from all party activities and will face disciplinary charges for an inflammatory video which shows him using racist and violent language.

Gouws is shown as using the “K” and “N” words and used violent language such as “kill”.

On Wednesday, the DA said it would authenticate the video, which was deleted and archived in 2012. Gouws denied making the remarks on the video and said it was fake.

“The DA has established that the video, in which Renaldo Gouws uses execrable language, is in fact genuine and not a fake as initially suspected,” the party said.

His case has been referred to the party's Federal Legal Commission, where he will be able to state his defence, according to DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille.

This is not the first such incident involving Gouws. Another video of him making offensive remarks in 2009 also made the rounds across social media earlier this week.

Calls for his removal as an MP prompted his apology for the 2009 video.

“I refute any claims of racism or being a racist. I can, however, see how my message was distorted in the way it was delivered by me and I take full responsibility for the actions of my younger and immature self. For that, I apologise unreservedly,” he said of the 2009 video.

Zille said the party would await the outcome of his disciplinary hearing.