Former DA MP Renaldo Gouws joins FF Plus

Former DA MP Renaldo Gouws has joined the FF Plus.

Renaldo Gouws/YouTube

Former DA MP Renaldo Gouws has joined the FF Plus.FF Plus leader Corné Mulder lauded Gouws’ political experience and passion for community values.Gouws joined the party because its “core values of freedom,self-determination,and safeguarding minority rights resonate with his own convictions”.Social media personality and short-lived DA MP Renaldo Gouws has joined the FF Plus,the party announced on Tuesday.

FF Plus leader Corné Mulder said in a statement that Gouws,an industrial psychologist with a big following on YouTube,among other media,“brings extensive political experience and a genuine passion for community values” to the party.

“Gouws’ passionate engagement with the country’s political and social issues earned him a following of more than 400 000 across his various social media platforms,where he is known for his commentary and analysis of current affairs,” said Mulder.

A video from 2010 resurfaced after he took up his seat in the National Assembly,which led to him parting ways with the DA. In the video,he repeatedly used the K-word,but according to him,he didn’t literally mean that black people should be killed,and it was in response to then-ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema singing Kill the Boer.

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After a public uproar,the DA terminated his party membership,costing him his parliamentary seat.

READ | ‘Unutterable and racist’: Renaldo Gouws apologises,commits to diversity workshops

The South African Human Rights Commission instituted hate speech proceedings against Gouws before the Equality Court. Following mediation,Gouws issued an apology.

According to Mulder’s statement,Gouws said that the FF Plus’ core values of freedom,and safeguarding minority rights resonate with his own convictions.

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“He,therefore,welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the party in building a united,prosperous South Africa where every citizen enjoys equal rights and is free to flourish.”

Mulder said the FF Plus “heartily welcomes Gouws into its fold and looks forward to working with him”.

Before he became an MP,Gouws represented the DA as a councillor in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro from 2016.