The DA’s suspension of MP Renaldo Gouws a week after making his debut in parliament because of “racist rants” in old videos which resurfaced on social media has sparked a debate.
The party announced Gouws’s suspension on Thursday morning after mulling over an old social media video from his student days in which he makes racially inflammatory remarks.
Over the past decade, Gouws’s YouTube videos speaking about racial matters and South African challenges have often gone viral, with many people challenging his perspective. Some people believed his opinions on South African challenges were extreme.
More than 53,000 people had signed a petition on Change.org by Thursday morning calling for Gouws to be removed as MP.
Earlier this week, Gouws dismissed claims he was racist after one of his videos from 2009, in which he spoke about “reverse apartheid”, trended on social media.
“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),” Gouws said.
“I reject 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.”
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Image: Renaldo Gouws/X
The DA’s suspension of MP Renaldo Gouws a week after making his debut in parliament because of “racist rants” in old videos which resurfaced on social media has sparked a debate.
The party announced Gouws’s suspension on Thursday morning after mulling over an old social media video from his student days in which he makes racially inflammatory remarks.
Over the past decade, Gouws’s YouTube videos speaking about racial matters and South African challenges have often gone viral, with many people challenging his perspective. Some people believed his opinions on South African challenges were extreme.
More than 53,000 people had signed a petition on Change.org by Thursday morning calling for Gouws to be removed as MP.
Earlier this week, Gouws dismissed claims he was racist after one of his videos from 2009, in which he spoke about “reverse apartheid”, trended on social media.
“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),” Gouws said.
“I reject 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.”
TimesLIVE
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DA suspends Renaldo Gouws after outcry over racist rants
POLL | Should DA MP Renaldo Gouws be removed from parliament?
'I reject any claims of racism': DA MP Renaldo Gouws on resurfaced video
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