If you’re white, stay out of sight – Old DA slogan

The DA allegedly had an internal slogan: ‘If you’re white, stay out of sight. If you’re brown, stick around. If you’re black, don’t hold back.’

Former Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament, Renaldo Gouws, shared this information during a discussion with Sama Sambit on The Grilling podcast.

“There was a saying in the party, and I’ll put my hand on a Bible and say this, which was the start of me losing respect for them,” he said.

Whenever there was a media event or the leader of the Democratic Alliance was coming to town, the slogan was:

If you’re white, stay out of sight; if you’re brown, stick around; and if you’re black, don’t hold back.

That was the instruction at these events. If you were white, stay out of sight when the media was present so that brown and black members could hang around the leader.

“This was during the Mmusi Maimane era, back when they were trying to showcase black representation in the party,” he said.

Gouws said he realised the DA was shifting, and that the worst thing you could be at that time was a white Afrikaner.

He argued that it was understandable to a certain extent, as the party was trying to make inroads into the black vote.

“If you believe you need to be a party that governs at all costs, then you have to appeal to as many people as possible,” he said.

Despite sidelining white people, Gouws said that the DA remained a good vehicle for him to contribute to the change he wanted to see.

“That’s why I remained a ward councillor, and why I applied to become a Member of Parliament: so I could make a difference in my portfolios,” he said.

However, Gouws lost his seat as a Member of Parliament after the Democratic Alliance terminated his party membership in September 2024.

This happened after an archived video originally recorded in 2010 resurfaced on social media, with selective media reporting causing a social media storm.

Gouws said the termination was a blessing in disguise, as it allowed him to transition to the Freedom Front Plus, which better aligns with his core beliefs and values.

Newsday asked the Democratic Alliance about its alleged slogan, but the party did not respond.

Helen Zille said that the DA was going woke

Gouws’s comments align with those from former Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille, who said she returned to a leadership position to save it from woke ideology.

She explained that after she stepped down and Mmusi Maimane took over as leader, the DA started to follow a woke ideology.

“I tried to help prevent Mmusi from going in this direction, but he was just totally in that slipstream, and so were several other people in the DA,” she said.

She said that after intervening and speaking her mind, the DA’s leadership tried to expel her from the party.

“I said that they have no basis for expelling me, as I have said nothing that’s against the DA’s constitution. This is why I carried on,” she said.

“I knew that would not only be the end of the DA, but I knew it would be the end of any hope for South Africa.”

This, she explained, was because the DA held the middle ground of rational analysis, non-racialism, and the rule of law.

When she witnessed the unravelling of the DA under the woke ideology, she decided to stand as Chairperson of the Federal Council.

“I didn’t think I’d win because the rot had set in so deep in the DA. However, I did. This gave me a strong platform to turn things around.”

She said that her opposition to the new direction the DA was taking caused a tremendous fight within the party.

“The prevailing thought was that if you didn’t become woke and adopt critical race theory, you would never win black support,” she said.

“I said that it was rubbish, and that the Democratic Alliance stood for non-racialism and that we were the only party that did that.”

Renaldo Gouws is a brilliant politician – Corne Mulder

When Gouws joined the Freedom Front Plus a year ago, party leader Corne Mulder welcomed him with open arms.

Mulder explained that Gouws’ convictions align closely with their core values of freedom, self-determination, and safeguarding minority rights.

“The Freedom Front Plus heartily welcomes Gouws into its fold and looks forward to working with him,” Mulder said.

Mulder regularly backs Gouws in interviews, despite being seen as controversial, saying he is a brilliant politician.

“Renaldo Gouws is an excellent politician, and he’s one of our candidates in Nelson Mandela Bay,” Mulder said in a Biznews interview.

He also said that Gouws’ past controversial videos and statements should be judged within the context of the time.

Mulder explained that, in the video which caused all the trouble, Gouws was making a point about double standards.

“Renaldo went through an internal disciplinary process at the Democratic Alliance and was found not guilty. However, he was still forced out,” he said.

Mulder added that Gouws was doing excellent work at the Freedom Front Plus and fighting a good cause.