Within hours of his suspension DA MP Renaldo Gouws has suffered another blow, with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) being the latest institution to lead the charge against him.
Gouws was suspended on Thursday morning by his party over his racist rants which surfaced on social media days after his swearing in.
Shortly after his suspension, the SAHRC revealed it will institute proceedings at the equality court in Gqeberha against Gouws for the alleged racial utterances.
“In the video, Mr Gouws allegedly calls 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 commission in a statement.
In the footage, Gouws is heard saying: “Alright, so there’s a couple of things I want to say. Kill the f**ing k**irs, kill all the f**ing n*ggers.”
Human rights commission takes suspended DA MP Renaldo Gouws to equality court
Image: Eugene Coetzee
Within hours of his suspension DA MP Renaldo Gouws has suffered another blow, with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) being the latest institution to lead the charge against him.
Gouws was suspended on Thursday morning by his party over his racist rants which surfaced on social media days after his swearing in.
Shortly after his suspension, the SAHRC revealed it will institute proceedings at the equality court in Gqeberha against Gouws for the alleged racial utterances.
“In the video, Mr Gouws allegedly calls 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 commission in a statement.
In the footage, Gouws is heard saying: “Alright, so there’s a couple of things I want to say. Kill the f**ing k**irs, kill all the f**ing n*ggers.”
DA suspends Renaldo Gouws after outcry over racist rants
The commission said it received complaints from aggrieved social media users seeking its intervention in the matter.
“Following assessment of the content, the commission has concluded that utterances allegedly made by Mr Gouws constitute 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.”
The commission said it is empowered in terms of section 13(3)(b) of the South African Human Rights Commission Act to bring proceedings in a competent court or tribunal in its own name or on behalf of a person or a group or class of people.
“Given Gouws' position as a member of parliament, his alleged actions carry even greater weight and responsibility, as he is expected to uphold and embody the principles enshrined in the constitution, including human dignity, equality and non-discrimination.”
The DA said it would recall Gouws as its MP temporarily while it probes the charges against him in its internal disciplinary structures.
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