Published by on

Former DA MP Renaldo Gouws has criticised how his disciplinary case was handled, claiming that the party’s Federal Legal Commission (FLC) decision to cancel his membership was planned and defective, Cape {town} Etc reports.

Also read: DA suspends Renaldo Gouws after racist video surfaces

Gouws took to social media platform X on Saturday evening to provide his version of events from his disciplinary hearing. 

‘I suggest the DA should just save the FLC some time, and when you see a case you already have a sanction in mind, then just give them a heads up so that ultimately your outcome is produced without wasting the party’s resources or to come with facts that might just change your point of view,’ he said in his post.

In June, the DA suspended Gouws from party activities after determining that an IOL exposé in which he made racist remarks was legitimate and not AI or a hoax.

In the video, Gouws can be heard saying, ‘Alright, there is a couple of things I want to say. Kill the f***ing k*****s, kill all the f***ing n*****s. That’s all I gotta f***ing say.’

The DA first defended him, arguing that his suspension would not prohibit him from performing his duties as an MP.

His appointment came as the South African Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC) case against him was scheduled to be tried in the Equality Court.

Professor Thuli Madonsela, the Stellenbosch University Law Trust Chair in Social Justice at the Faculty of Law, argued that the party should ‘explain this apparent inconsistency.’

Cape {town} Etc discount: Looking for things to do in the city, at half the price? Get exclusive offers here.

Earlier this month, the party unanimously terminated Gouws, removing him from his parliamentary position.

The FLC found Gouws guilty of breaking several elements of the DA constitution, a decision he is currently fighting.

Gouws said he went through a three-month process with the FLC, the party’s internal disciplinary body, where he was required to present his side of the story.

He was questioned about his responses and ultimately flew to Cape Town for a three-hour in-person meeting.

‘After that, the FLC sent their heads of arguments over to me that said they found me guilty on one of the two charges against me,’ added Gouws.

He emphasized that he was found not guilty of recording, or causing to be recorded, and posting, or causing to be posted, a video in which you make discriminating, hateful, and/or racial remarks on social media. 

Gouws claimed he was found guilty of not telling the party about the existence of the video and/or similar videos, remarks, and/or social media posts as part of his application to be a public representative for the DA in the 2024 general elections and other candidate selection processes that followed, including, the 2016 local government elections, even though he had declared the video and the YouTube channel.

The party informed him that his failure to disclose had ‘materially harmed and/or impacted your qualification to be considered as a candidate for the Democratic Alliance.’ 

He went on to explain, ‘I then had the opportunity to present my heads of argument, which demonstrated that I was not guilty of any of the charges. I submitted it and was convinced that I would be judged not guilty because our constitution provides unambiguous indicators of innocence or guilt in these areas.’

Your dream car is just a click away! Check out these budget-friendly offers under R100 000 and cruise through Cape Town in style.  Find car listings here.

‘Then, out of the blue, on Friday the 13th of September, I get a short email from Fedex (Federal Executive) telling me that my membership has been terminated.’ 

Gouws clarified, however, that after reading the actual ‘findings’ document that was attached to the email, ‘it became clear that the majority of the FLC panel found that I was still guilty, but that my sanction should be that I remain with the DA but commit to staying off social media and closing my YouTube channel.’ If I succeeded in doing this, he continued to represent the DA as a Member of Parliament (DA MP) for the DA in the general elections of 2024 as well as other processes for selecting candidates, including those that followed the 2016 local government elections.

He said that the advice came from persons who met, engaged, and communicated with him for three months to get to the heart of the situation.

‘Their decision was then sent to Fedex (Federal Executive) to be stamped for approval. However, Fedex didn’t agree with their decision and implemented a harsher sanction against me, which meant that my membership was terminated and, therefore, my seat in Parliament became vacant. (Oh yes, they can do this, but only when they really want to),’ said Gouws.

He agreed to record a 40-minute video, which will be released on his YouTube page this week. In it, he will explain to the public the circumstances and procedures that occurred during his disciplinary hearing.

‘My question is why did we waste three months asking actual lawyers to meet and engage with me to find a suitable sanction against me, and then once it is produced, the Fedex, who didn’t sit in on any of these meetings, and honestly didn’t spend three months to go over every single detail, suddenly decides no, and then implements a harsher sentence?’ Gouws added,

‘How is this an open and transparent process… especially based on the fact that I am being told I can’t appeal this outcome? Yes, you read right, I can’t appeal this decision because the constitution of the DA states a FLC decision can’t be appealed. (Shocker).’

He suggested that the DA should ‘just save the FLC some time and when you see a case you already have a sanction in mind then just give them a heads up so that ultimately your outcome is produced without wasting the party’s resources or to come with facts that might just change your point of view.’

In response to queries from News24, DA spokesperson Willie Aucamp said that the constitution of the party, as well as the rules of the Federal Legal Commission adopted by our Federal Congress, applies to every member of the DA, adding that when you sign up membership with the DA, you confirm that you will uphold and respect the constitution of the Democratic Alliance as well as abide by the rules of the Federal Legal Commission.

Last week, a crowdfunding platform that raised R48 475 in support of the suspended DA MP was taken down.

On Wednesday, BackaBuddy CEO Patrick Schofield released a statement condemning the fundraising campaign, stating that the platform’s vetting process confirmed that the campaign ‘did not meet the conditions’ of its T&Cs and was thus removed.

Also read:

Fundraising campaign for suspended DA MP Ronaldo Gouws removed

Picture: Renaldo Gouws / Facebook

Article written by