Renaldo Gouws

Renaldo Gouws (born 2 May 1983) is a South African politician, YouTuber and industrial psychologist. He represented the Democratic Alliance (DA) as Spokesperson for Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture in Nelson Mandela Bay and as a Member of Federal Council for DA in the Eastern Cape. He has recently been accused of racism due to comments he made in videos recorded and subsequently deleted.

Early life and education
Gouws was born in the small town of Uitenhage, Eastern Cape, and attended Hoërskool Brandwag. He studied at the Nelson Mandela University where he obtained a masters degree in industrial psychology in 2010. He currently does consultation work as an industrial psychologist.

Political career
Gouws joined the DA in 2012. His political career began when he became the branch chairperson of Ward 2 in Nelson Mandela Bay in 2012. Gouws graduated in 2012 from the Provincial Young Leaders Program and the National Young Leadership Program in 2013. In 2016 he ranked high enough on the PR list for the DA to secure a seat for the Nelson Mandela Municipality Council. In 2019 he was elected as DA councillor for Ward 2 in a by-election where the DA received 94%. From 2019 Gouws served as the Spokesperson for Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture for the DA in Nelson Mandela Bay.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gouws with his caucus leadership formulated a plan that would assist in turning the metro around.

Following the 2024 South African general election, Gouws was sworn in as a Member of Parliament for the DA, but was suspended from the party a few days later after a racist video surfaced. In the video excerpt, published by Independent Online, Gouws used racial slurs calling for the 'killing of all black people'. The excerpt came from a longer video recorded by Gouws in 2010, which had previously been deleted from Gouws's YouTube channel but was still available in an archive from 2012. In the video, Gouws says he did not truly mean the words he said and that they were for the purpose of creating context for the anger at then ANC youth league leader Julius Malema singing the song 'Kill the Boer'.

Andile Lungisa jug incident (2016)
During a council meeting in Nelson Mandela Bay in 2016, a brawl broke out that led to glass jugs being thrown around injuring people. Andile Lungisa broke a glass jug over a fellow councillor's head and was arrested for Grievous bodily harm. Gouws took footage of the incident which was used to convict Lungisa of assault.

Social media activity and allegations
Gouws started a YouTube channel in 2009 with a focus on South African current events and politics. He used to do a debate show which is called the Sunday Service, in which he spoke to senior politicians, celebrities and thought leaders about South Africa. Over the years Gouws has been no stranger to controversy having been accused and formally charged of racism, hate speech and incitement to violence. He has also been accused of homophobia, with videos circulating of him using homophobic language.