BackaBuddy is not endorsing Renaldo Gouws fundraiser, says CEO

BackaBuddy CEO Patrick Schofield says the platform does not endorse the fundraising campaign in support of suspended DA MP Renaldo Gouws.

In a statement on Thursday, Schofield addressed recent controversies surrounding a fundraising campaign initiated by Matthew Dickson in support of Gouws. Schofield emphasised that BackaBuddy did not endorse the campaign.

“We wish to address inaccuracies in a recent article published by IOL concerning BackaBuddy's involvement in a fundraising campaign initiated by Matthew Dickson. We reached out to IOL, and they have since corrected the article.

“The original article's headline and content incorrectly suggested that we endorse the campaign for Renaldo Gouws,” Schofield said.

Gouws recently faced backlash on social media after a video surfaced in which he made inflammatory remarks about “reverse apartheid”. The video, originally posted in 2009, shows Gouws criticising then-president Jacob Zuma and ANC youth leader Julius Malema for singing songs about killing people based on their race.

In a disturbing segment of the video, Gouws is heard saying, “Alright, so there’s a couple of things I want to say. Kill the f***ing ka***rs, kill all the f**king n*ggers.”

“We would like to clarify that BackaBuddy does not endorse any campaigns; our platform serves solely as a neutral facilitator, operating strictly within our published terms and conditions,” Schofield added.

The crowdfunding platform decided to close donations to the campaign after it had raised R48,475 of its R100,000 goal. The campaign supported the former Nelson Mandela Bay councillor, who has been suspended from his duties as an MP pending disciplinary charges before the DA’s federal legal commission.

Schofield said BackaBuddy’s policies allowed for campaigns to launch immediately, with vetting and validation processes commencing once funds were received.

“Following the vetting process, it was confirmed that this campaign did not meet the conditions of our T&Cs for hosting on our platform and was hence removed.”

When asked about the issuing of refunds, BackaBuddy responded on X, stating: “Since the campaign has been removed, we will be in contact with all donors to arrange refunds.”

The controversy surrounding Gouws has sparked comparisons on social media to Andile Mngxitama, leader of Black First Land First (BLF). Mngxitama has been criticised after an old video resurfaced, showing him at a BLF event in Potchefstroom chanting, “For every one life taken, five white lives will be taken.” Mngxitama was sworn in as an MP for the MK Party on Tuesday.

A petition launched by Umhlaba Wethu has been created to defend Mngxitama amid calls for his removal from parliament and had more than 7,000 signatures by Thursday afternoon.

“Mngxitama is facing widespread persecution from racists for declaring that black people will no longer sit and watch while their populations get decimated through white racist brutality as was the case during apartheid,” the petition reads.

The debate on social media continued, with many users insisting that consequences should be consistent across similar cases.

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