Newly appointed South African MP suspended for racist language video

Controversial South African opposition politician, Renaldo Gouws, has been suspended by his party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), less than a week after being sworn in as a member of parliament.

His suspension comes after videos he made about 15 years ago, in which he is seen spewing racist language against black people, resurfaced online.

Initially, one of the videos was suspected of being fake, but the DA issued a statement on Thursday saying it had established it was genuine.

The party said his comments did not reflect what it as an organisation stands for and that Gouws will face disciplinary charges before its federal legal commission.

South Africa’s Human Rights Commission has also said it will  be taking legal action against him in the Equality Court.

The controversy comes as the DA joined the African National Congress in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s newly formed government of national unity.