South Africa’s Democratic Alliance party (DA) has immediately suspended its newly sworn-in Member of Parliament, Renaldo Gouws, over a racially charged, widely-circulating video.
The party said it had established that the video circulating on social media was genuine and not fake, as initially suspected. This prompted the DAS to suspend Gouws pending a disciplinary hearing before the party’s Federal Legal Executive Committee.
In the video, made 16 years ago, Gouws is heard using “k” and “n” racial expletives and calling for the killing of black people. The clip has resurfaced in the wake of his election and swearing-in to the National Assembly last Friday.
He recently apologized and expressed remorse for his actions done back in 2009, when he “was young and still a student”.
The DA is South Africa’s biggest opposition party to the African National Congress and emerged second in the May elections, whose outcome has resulted in the two parties joining together to form a Government of National Unity.
