DA launches probe into racist language video following Renaldo Gouws suspension

DA’s Member of Parliament Renaldo Gouws has been suspended with immediate effect and now faces disciplinary charges at the party’s federal legal commission.

Gouws was in hot water for racist and homophobic videos that he took about 15 years ago that recently surfaced following his swearing-in at the National Assembly as part of the 7th administration.

On Wednesday, several DA members told Daily Maverick that the party had roped in experts to authenticate one video in which Gouws repeatedly calls South Africans  the K word and the N word — derogatory terms used during the apartheid era.

In the video, Gouws is heard saying: “Alright so there’s a couple of things I want to say. Kill the f**ing k*ffirs, kill all the f*ing n*ggers. That’s all I gotta f*ing say. Kill all the k*ffirs! Kill all the f*ing n*ggers!”

When the party called him to account, Gouws was said to have claimed that the video had been fake and possibly taken using modern technology such as AI tools.

On Wednesday, the DA’s chief whip in parliament Siviwe Gwarube told Daily Maverick that the party had noted the matter which has since been escalated to the party’s highest decision-making body led by Hellen Zille.

“We have noted the videos that have come to light that were taken about 16 years ago by now the member of parliament in our caucus. Of course, we rebuke any kind of racism and homophobia in any kind or form, because that is not what we as an organisation stand for and so the matter is now with the chairperson of the federal council for her to deal with, from a party political point of view and to see what is to be done.

“The difficulty here is that those videos were made when the person was not a member, but at the same time it is important that we retain the reputation of the organisation because we can’t have people who espouse those kinds of views in the party,” Gwarube said.

Media notice of the suspension of Renaldo Gouws. (Image: ORI X)

On Wednesday night, Zille indicated that should the probe find that the video in question is authentic, he would be fired without delay, a move which it has since followed through.

“If the video is found to be true, it’s over for him. He will be removed as an MP. Such language is unjustifiable and unacceptable. I don’t see how such offensive language can be justified,” Zille told News24.

Following his suspension, Gouws, who previously served as a Nelson Mandela Bay councillor, will forfeit several tax-payer funded benefits including a R1.27-million a year (over R100,000 a month)  salary, subsidised medical aid and free flights.

Chequered racial past

Gouws is no stranger to controversy,  he boasts a YouTube channel with thousands of followers, a platform he used to speak about racial matters which often do not go unchallenged.

Gouws declined media interviews while attending President Cyril Ramaphosa’s inauguration at the union buildings on Wednesday.

The video which Gouws is suspended for is not the first that has recently resurfaced from his past. Earlier this week he apologised after a two-minute racist rant directed at Julius Malema’s “Kill die boer” chant made the rounds on social media.

He released a statement in which he apologised unreservedly.

“I addressed this snippet in 2016 and again in 2020 when approached by the media when it was posted on social media. (Articles on this can be Googled). This was at the time when then-President Zuma and then Youth Leader, Malema were singing songs about killing people based on their race.

“Before this and before these snippets were used publicly against me, I posted a lengthy Facebook post from 2013 in which I apologised for how I delivered my message in my videos (angry, hostile, confrontational and crass).

“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 wrote in a statement.

Gouws’s incident is similar to that of a South African man, Adam Catzavelos who in 2018 recorded himself making racist comments about the lack of black people in his surroundings.

He had been at an overseas holiday spot saying: “Not one k****r in sight, f*cking heaven on earth… You cannot beat this!”

In 2019, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) slapped him with a R200,000 fine and an instruction to apologise. Similar to Gouws, he was fired from his family’s business.

Gouws’s videos led to an online petition on Change.org which has seen more than 53,000 people calling for his removal. The petition initially started by Kimberly Jones was reportedly used by the party’s federal council to build a strong case against him, Daily Maverick was reliably informed.

Jones in the petition said: “The recent videos of Mr Gouws circulating on social media, where he spews racial remarks against people of colour, are a stark reminder of how quickly we can regress if such behaviour is left unchecked. South Africa, with its freshly adopted national government of unity, understands the importance of collective action towards common goals more than most.”

Following Gouws' suspension the South African Human Rights Commission released a statement saying that it would be instituting proceedings at the Equality Court in Gqeberha against Gouws, for the alleged racial utterances relating to online media posts. The human rights watchdog said that the video constitutes 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 (PEPUDA or Equality Act).

Also on Thursday morning, ANC Youth League President Collen Malatji welcomed Gouws' suspension, as they have previously called for it. At a press briefing, Malatji went further: "we wish that they further expel him". DM