CAPE TOWN, South Africa — President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa refuted claims of white persecution in the country on Monday, calling it a “completely false narrative.” This statement marks his latest effort to counter allegations made by Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and certain white minority groups within South Africa.
Musk, who was born in South Africa and has frequently accused the South African government of anti-white bias, reiterated his claim on social media this past weekend, asserting that some South African political figures are “actively promoting white genocide.”
In his weekly address to the nation, Ramaphosa urged South Africans to “not allow events beyond our shores to divide us or turn us against each other.”
He specifically stated, “In particular, we should challenge the completely false narrative that our country is a place in which people of a certain race or culture are being targeted for persecution.”
While Ramaphosa didn’t mention names, his denial alluded to allegations made by Trump and others, accusing South Africa of deliberately mistreating white citizens by inciting violent attacks on their farms and proposing legislation to seize their land.
These allegations formed the basis of an executive order issued by Trump last month, which cut funding to South Africa as a form of punishment, mirroring similar sentiments expressed by some conservatives in the U.S.
Afrikaners, primarily descendants of Dutch and French colonial settlers who arrived in South Africa over 300 years ago, were central to the apartheid regime that systematically oppressed non-whites. Despite this history, South Africa has largely succeeded in fostering reconciliation among its diverse racial groups since the end of apartheid in 1994.
In his X post, Musk, an influential advisor to Trump, referenced a political rally held last Friday in South Africa. At the rally, Black leaders from a far-left opposition party sang a song containing the lyrics “Kill the Boer, the farmer.” “Boer” is a term used to refer to an Afrikaner.
“Very few people know that there is a major political party in South Africa that is actively promoting white genocide,” Musk wrote, including a link to a video of the rally.
Senator Marco Rubio stated on X late Monday that the song “is a chant that incites violence. South Africa’s leaders and politicians must take action to protect Afrikaner and other disfavored minorities. The United States is proud to offer those individuals who qualify for admission to our nation amid this continued horrible threat of violence.”
The political party in question, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), is the fourth largest in Parliament and a political rival of Ramaphosa’s African National Congress. It secured 9.5% of the vote in last year’s national election. The EFF has faced scrutiny for inciting racial tensions and for singing the aforementioned song, which was used during apartheid as a call to resist government oppression.
The modern use of the song has drawn criticism from various groups in South Africa, including other political parties. A group representing Afrikaners challenged its use in court, leading to a ruling over a decade ago that deemed it hate speech and effectively banned it.
However, the song was subject to several other legal battles before a 2022 ruling determined that it was not hate speech and was protected under freedom of speech, citing a lack of evidence that it incited violence. The EFF maintains that it is a historical chant that should not be interpreted literally and has, at times, altered the lyrics to “kiss the Boer.”
Since Trump’s executive order, the South African government has attempted to address concerns surrounding white farmers, who are sometimes victims of violent attacks in their homes. While the government has condemned these attacks, experts assert that there is no evidence of widespread targeting of whites, and that these incidents are part of South Africa’s overall high violent crime rates, affecting all racial groups.
The group representing Afrikaners claims that the police have, at times, underreported farm homicides in official statistics. They recently stated that their figures indicated eight farm homicides occurred in the three-month period between October and December of last year, while police records only reflected one.
According to police statistics, there were a total of 6,953 homicides across South Africa during that same time period.
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Associated Press writer Mogomotsi Magome in Johannesburg contributed to this report.
