DA’s Renaldo Gouws Issues Apology Following Petition, Mzansi Is Not Interested
- Following a petition to remove DA's Renaldo Gouws over a resurfaced 2009 video, Gouws issued an apology, taking responsibility for his past actions but refuting claims of racism
- The incident sparked mixed reactions on social media, with some calling for his resignation and others advocating for forgiveness
- The DA has not yet commented on the matter, and Mzansi is ready to get him out of parliament
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Reitumetse Makwea, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Pretoria, South Africa, has covered local elections, policy changes, the State of the Nation Address and political news at The Citizen and Rekord Noweto for over five years.
Source: Twitter
Following an urgent petition calling for the removal of Democratic Alliance (DA) Member of Parliament Renaldo Gouws, he has issued an apology.
The petition emerged after a controversial 2009 video snippet resurfaced on social media, prompting widespread debate and calls for accountability.
The DA has not commented on this yet.
A public apology from DA member
Gouws, in response to the outcry, released a public apology addressing the incident.
See the apology posted on X below:
"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.”
Mixed reactions on social media
The apology has elicited a range of responses on social media.
Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie expressed a nuanced view on X:
“I can’t stand this guy, he is not a good person in my opinion, he never let a day pass without bringing up my past during campaigning. He reminded people every day that I once was a criminal but to want to cancel or remove him from parliament for something he said 16 years ago is wrong.
"People change, people become better, most of us live with regret for the things we said or did, some amongst us have been racist or said racist things maybe once many years ago, I don’t think we should destroy the future of people for something that happened so many years ago.”
However, not everyone was willing to forgive.
@ZacMoselane said:
“Apology not accepted. You are not needed in our parliament.”
@_mashesha insisted an apology should be accompanied by a resignation:
“They say a real apology is accompanied by a resignation letter.”
@wmdz_ tweeted:
“We get that but please resign from parliament and any public position you may be occupying.”
@ZizinjaAbelungu is definitely not willing to accept the apology:
“We do not accept your apology, we are going to work tirelessly to remove you from our Democratic Parliament. Our parents died and fought hard for this country to be free from racism.
"Therefore we kindly ask you to reform and self-rehabilitate from this hatred you have for black people. Resign from Parliament with immediate effect or suffer the consequences.”
Mzansi rallies behind urgent petition to remove DA member Renaldo Gouws
Briefly News reported that an urgent petition to remove DA's Renaldo Gouws from Parliament gathered 2,323 signatures in less than five hours.
Following a controversial video in which he made racially charged remarks, the petition, widely shared on social media, condemns Gouws's comments as harmful to democratic values and social harmony.
Social media reactions are mixed, with some expressing outrage and others defending Gouws's statements.
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Source: Briefly News
