Nearly 50,000 people have since signed a petition calling on parliamentary leaders and the Democratic Alliance (DA) to "reconsider" Gouws' membership, and it could soon be presented to the Committee of Petitions and Undertakings for further review. In the meantime, the DA has told Eyewitness News it is dealing with the matter "internally."
"A snippet of a video that I posted [15] 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," the former Nelson Mandela Bay ward councillor explained in a post on X. "I addressed this snippet in 2016 and again in 2020 when approached by the media when it was posted on social media. (Articles on this can be Googled)."
He noted that in 2013, he apologized on Facebook for how "angry, hostile, confrontational and crass" he had come across. "I refute any claims of racism or being a racist," he added. "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 also pointed out that his remarks came at a time "when then President Zuma and then Youth Leader, Malema were singing songs about killing people based on their race."
Despite backlash, Malema and the party he went on to found and lead, the Economic Freedom Fighters, have continued to recite the "Kill the Boer" chant at rallies as recently as this year.
Many people came to Gouws' defense, including South African comedian David Scott, better known as The Kiffness.
"The woke mob will never be satisfied," he lamented. "You've helped countless people in your community regardless of race, (one thing the media & the mob will never show or acknowledge) & more than that, you've learned how to channel your anger & you're using it to make South Africa a better place. The fact that people are trying to cancel you because of a 15 year old video says more about them than it does about you."
In the video in question, Gouws claimed that since the end of apartheid, it was mainly white people who were being "beaten ... killed ... and discriminated against," just as black people had been before.
