CAPE TOWN, South Africa โ South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has forcefully rebutted claims asserting that white citizens are persecuted in South Africa, labeling such allegations as a โcompletely false narrative.โ This assertion comes amid claims made by former U.S. President Donald Trump, entrepreneur Elon Musk, and certain white minority groups in South Africa.
Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa and has often criticized the current predominately Black-led government as being anti-white, reiterated a controversial assertion over the weekend. In a social media post, Musk claimed that some political figures in South Africa are โactively promoting white genocide.โ
In his weekly address to the nation, President Ramaphosa urged South Africans to resist letting influences from overseas cause internal division or set citizens against one another. He emphasized the importance of confronting what he described as a false narrative implying people are being persecuted based on their race or cultural background.
While Ramaphosa did not single out individuals by name, his comments were directed at refuting allegations levelled by Trump and others, who claim that South Africa intentionally subjects the white minority group known as Afrikaners to maltreatment. Accusations include encouraging violent farm attacks and implementing policies aimed at land seizure.
These accusations were central to Trumpโs executive order last month, which involved cutting funding to South Africa as a punitive measure. The order also expressed support for granting Afrikaners refugee status in the United States.
Afrikaners trace their lineage mainly to Dutch and French colonial settlers who arrived in South Africa over 300 years ago. Historically, they were central to the apartheid regime that oppressed non-white citizens. However, following the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa has largely succeeded in reconciling its various racial groups.
In a post on the social media platform X, Trump advisor Elon Musk referred to a political rally where members of a far-left opposition group, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), sang a song with lyrics advocating violence against Afrikaners. Muskโs post highlighted this as evidence of a political party promoting violence against whites.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio similarly commented on the song via X, describing it as an incitement to violence. He urged South African leaders to act to protect Afrikaners and other minorities, affirming that the United States remains open to accepting individuals facing these threats.
The EFF, the fourth-largest party in South Africaโs Parliament, has faced scrutiny for exacerbating racial tensions and using the contentious song, convicted as hate speech by courts over a decade ago. Despite this, subsequent legal rulings, including one in 2022, have found that the song is protected under freedom of expression.
Since Trumpโs executive action, the South African government has been working to address misconceptions about violence against white farmers. While acknowledging these attacks, experts affirm they are symptomatic of South Africaโs overall high crime rates rather than evidence of targeted racial persecution.
Organizations representing Afrikaners have criticized underreporting of farm killings, presenting figures that contrast with official police data. These discrepancies highlight the complexity of crime statistics in the region. According to police reports, there were 6,953 murders in South Africa during the last reported quarter.