Equality Court to hear ‘k-word’ case against axed DA MP Renaldo Gouws

The Equality Court in the Eastern Cape is set to begin proceedings in a hate speech complaint against former Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Renaldo Gouws, following the emergence of an old video clip in which he can allegedly be heard saying, “Kill all the k*****s.”

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) announced on Wednesday that it had initiated legal proceedings against Gouws in June after being contacted by outraged citizens on social media requesting intervention in the matter.

The complaint stems from a video in which Gouws is accused of calling for the killing of Black people while using offensive and derogatory language.

The video was originally published on his YouTube channel in March 2010.

Fired

Gouws was suspended in June just days after he was sworn in as a DA MP.

He was fired in September, bringing his three-month career in Parliament to an end.

He landed in hot water again after a second video showed the seemingly angry DA MP referring to black South Africans by the K-word.

“Alright, so there’s a couple of things I want to say, kill the f**king  k***ers. Kill all the f***ing n***ers. That’s all I’ve got to say. Kill the f***ing  k***ers, kill all the f***ing n***ers.”

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Hearing

The SAHRC said the matter against Gouws will be heard in the Gqeberha High Court, sitting as an Equality Court on Thursday, with proceedings set to get underway at about 9:30am.

“The commission emphasises the critical importance of fostering a society rooted in non-discrimination while actively promoting and safeguarding the right to equality for all individuals, irrespective of their race.”

Apology

Gouws apologised for the first video and said claims of him being racist were false, and that he has addressed the video clip before.

“A snippet of a video that I posted 16 years ago (back in 2009) when I was young and still a student has been recycled and posted on social media over the last few days,” said Gouws.

Gouws denied allegations of being racist.

“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,” Gouws said.

ALSO READ: DA suspends MP Renaldo Gouws over racist K-word video