Sema Fonkem 12/05/2025

A group of 49 White Afrikaners who claim to face insecurities such as threat to life and racial discrimination in South Africa have left for the United States of America. Their refugee status will be granted by the Trump administration upon their arrival in Washington DC.

On the 7th of February 2025, speaking from the White House, president Donald Trump announced during his passing of executive orders that the enacted Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 is against the citizens’ rights of white South Africans. Trump said the US government will no longer support or provide aid to South Africa. He also said the the United States shall promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees who are escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation.

Many South African citizens, members of the South African Parliament, activists, the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola have debunked Trump’s claims and assertion of the Expropriation Act. Lamola says the group of 49 was vetted by SAPS before departure and he confirms the group that has left for the US does not qualify for refugee status.

After Trump and Elon Musk highlighted that there was a “White Genocide”(targeted killing or mass murder of white people) going on in South Africa, police report prove that 44 white people were killed in South Africa in 2024 and amongst them were 8 farmers. These killings were mostly armed robberies gone wrong and not premediated.

Trump also misinterpreted the Expropriation Act. He said that land is being taken from white South Africans without compensation but failed to mention that the government of South Africa only wants to take over unused and abandoned land.

The great fallout between the US and South Africa began when the US criticised South Africa for taking a firm position against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by accusing him of committing a genocide against Palestinians.

Arguments by white South Africans also stem from Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) political party leader, Julius Malema’s singing of “Kill the Boer” (shoot the white farmer) song. The song originated during the struggle against apartheid and is sung by Malema during EFF rallies. The white community in South Africa accuse Malema of inciting violence against whites.

In 2022, Human Rights advocacy group AfriForum lost a case at the Equality Court (EC) against Malema and In the 2025, the Constitutional Court (CC) of South Africa also dismissed an appeal by AfriForum to recall the case. Although whites in South Africa are persistent with the accusation that singing of the song “kill the boer” has influenced the killing of some white South Africans by blacks, both the EC and CC ruled that the song does not constitute hate speech.

A common sentiment shared by majority of South Africans who were spoken to by Critique Africa is that the whites are leaving because their rule under Neo-Colonialism is seriously failing. They also strongly believe this is a sign that white Afrikaners are beginning to feel defeated and are using the Expropriation Act as an excuse to go and start afresh somewhere else. The president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa described the 49 Afrikaners as cowards.