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CWA # 1645, 30 May 2025
NIAS Africa Studies
South Africa: What led to the Trump-Ramaphosa Afrikaner Genocide Debate?

  C Shraddha

On 22 May, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met US President Donald Trump at the White House. The visit aimed at soothing tensions between countries that have been ongoing for weeks over Trump’s genocide allegations against the South African government. Trump has been accusing the South African government of persecuting and killing white Afrikaners in the country. The talks also came a week after the US granted asylum to 60 White Africans from South Africa under the refugee programme set by the Trump administration. The programme offers “sanctuary” to the white Afrikaners who are allegedly facing racial discrimination in their country.

However, the tensions spiralled during the meeting when Trump displayed videos of the burials of White farmers in South Africa. He also featured South African opposition leader Julius Malema chanting: "Shoot the Boer [Afrikaner], Shoot the farmer.” Ramaphosa denied the allegations and responded: "Our government policy is completely against what he [Malema] was saying even in the parliament, and they are a small minority party, which is allowed to exist according to our constitution."

Who are the white Afrikaners?
The white Afrikaners descended from the 17th-century Western Europeans who settled in the southernmost part of Africa. They are a mix of Dutch, German and French Huguenot settlers who predominantly speak Afrikaans, a West Germanic language originating in the 17th century Dutch. They are often referred to as “Africa’s White Tribe.” Also known as Boers, the majority of them are farmers, holding large swathes of land confiscated during the colonial period. They also played a role in the creation and enforcement of apartheid.

The presence of Afrikaners steadily declined, from nine per cent in 2011 to 7.8 per cent in 2021. According to Statistics South Africa, approximately 612,000 Afrikaners left the country between 1985 and 2021. 

What led to the tensions between the Trump and Ramaphosa administrations?
The relationship between the two countries has soured since the onset of the Trump administration. It began when Ramaphosa signed the Land Expropriation Act in January. The act replaced the former Expropriation Act of 1975, allowing the government to seize land acquired by the Afrikaners during the colonial period without compensation under specific conditions, including when the land is unused, abandoned or held for speculative purposes. While Ramaphosa lauded this legislation as a “significant milestone” in addressing historical injustices, the Trump administration called it an attack on the rights of Afrikaners. Trump alleged that the African National Congress (ANC) government is carrying out a “white genocide” under the pretext of land reforms. 

Trump’s narrative of white minority persecution gathered traction when a group of Afrikaners staged a demonstration outside the US Embassy in Pretoria, holding signs proclaiming: “Thank God for President Trump” and “Make Afrikaans Great Again.” They showcased their opposition to the bill, asserting that they are being subjected to racism by their government.

In February, Trump cut off financial assistance to the country, expelled its ambassador to Washington, and threatened the Ramaphosa government with 30 per cent tariffs. Trump’s anger towards the country was also a disapproval of South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the ICJ. 

What are the problems faced by Afrikaners? 
According to the South African government’s crime data, 7000 people were killed in the country between October and December 2022. It reportedly included a dozen farmers, including one white farmer. The genocide allegations are centred around these sporadic farm attacks and looting of the rural Afrikaners. The Trump administration claims that these attacks showcase racial intent, fueled by the lack of protective measures and rising anti-white rhetoric of the South African government. 

Afrikaners are not well received by other South Africans, attributed to their brutality and discrimination against the black population during apartheid. Similarly, while one part of Afrikaners enjoys a disproportionate amount of wealth, the working-class white minority faces an economic crisis. Approximately 450,000 financially impoverished white-minorities live in squatter camps across Pretoria and Johannesburg without electricity, clean water and sanitation facilities. 

How has South Africa responded?
South African responses to Trump’s allegations have been united among the ruling and opposition parties. Ramaphosa strongly denied the genocide accusations. He said: “If there was Afrikaner farmer genocide, I can bet you, these three gentlemen would not be here,” pointing to Afrikaner golfers Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and billionaire Johann Rupert, who came to visit Trump with Ramaphosa. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ronald Lamola, reiterated that the allegations lacked any factual basis. Lamola argued: “There is no data at all that backs that there is persecution of white South Africans or white Afrikaners in particular. White farmers get affected by crime just like any other South Africans.”

South African political leaders, including those representing Afrikaner interests, have rejected the genocide narrative. The leader of the Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s second biggest party, John Steenhuisen, has dismissed Trump’s claims as “nonsense.” Similarly, a senior official of the Afrikaner lobby group, Solidarity, informed the US officials that “there is no genocide and there is no government seizure of land.” 

The country has also combated these claims with data-based evidence. Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, highlighted the nature of the recent farm killings to counter the narratives purported by the Trump administration. As per data, between January and March, six individuals were killed on farms, only one of whom was an Afrikaner. He also substantiated his argument with data from previous quarters, which recorded the murder of twelve farm owners, including one white farmer. 

About the author
C Shraddha is a postgraduate student at OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat.

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