AfriForum, an Afrikaner NGO that seeks to protect the rights of Afrikaners has lobbied the United States of America (USA) to sanction South Africa over the Expropriation Act. An impression has been given that the Expropriation Act seeks to empower the state to seize land from white South Africans, in violation of their constitutional rights. This was followed by the USA President, Donald Trump, signing an executive order to withdraw funding from South Africa. But what will be referred to as the USA’s response in this passage is what Mr Trump has taken to his social media to say of South Africa’s action:
“South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY. It is a bad situation that the Radical Left Media doesn’t want to so much as mention. A massive Human Rights VIOLATION, at a minimum, is happening for all to see. The United States won’t stand for it, we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”
The Expropriation Act, as signed into law on 23 January 2025 by President Ramaphosa, provides for the redistribution of land for public purpose and interest, and provides guidelines on the application of Section 25 of the Constitution of South Africa, 1996. A key factor provided for by S25 is expropriation WITH compensation, which must be just and equitable. It is a discussion for another day what just and equitable means, but at this point in time it is important to stress that it is pathetic of anyone, AfriForum or the USA, to suggest that expropriation as understood in this context is synonymous with confiscation of land or property. Equating the expropriation of land to CONFISCATION is a deliberate move to misinform by those that are uncomfortable with progress and transformation. The fact that the Act is subject to S25 of the Constitution guarantees a buffer against arbitrary deprivation of property. Section 1 of the Expropriation Act defines Expropriation as “the compulsory acquisition of property for a public purpose or in the public interest by an expropriating authority, or an organ of state upon request to an expropriating authority…” So, Mr Donald Trump’s use of the language “confiscation“, to provide a narrative that land is being seized or taken from white people illegally and forcefully, is an effort to demonize affirmative action, and any efforts aimed and transforming the lives of black people to make them equal to white people.
Demonizing black people for wanting better has not started now, neither will it end now. Elon musk has gone as lower as using his X platform to spread false information about Julius Malema’s (the Opposition Leader in South Africa) revolutionary stance and call to dismantle racism and white privilege. Instances of Mr Malema singing “kill the Boer” and uttering “cut the throat of whiteness” have been maliciously quoted to push false sentiments that there is black on white violence, and names such as “international criminal” have been evoked to discredit revolutionary figures such as Mr Malema. AfriForum has been here before but their efforts were thwarted by the Supreme Court of Appeal in their case against the Economic Freedom Fighters (led by Mr Malema) which upheld the ruling of the Equality Court that Mr Malema’s words cannot be understood literally to mean violence, but were rather a struggle song, a symbolical call to dismantle power imbalance in the form of racist institutions. Clearly, the head of DOGE in the USA is ignorant about this. Historically, black bodies have been killed and disposed of with impunity. The scales of power have always tilted in favour of white people. Black people do not hold any power, so it cannot be the case that the song “kill the boer” or “cutting the throat of whiteness” is a literal call for blood purge on white South Africans. It is that failure to acknowledge and comprehend power dynamics in the context of South Africa’s apartheid history that has seen people like Elon Musk and Donald Trump trying to push the narrative that there is black on white violence in the farms.
Washington’s actions are a textbook example of how whiteness tries to monopolise knowledge by acting like they know everything, even things they know nothing about. They talk about racial injustice against white people, yet it is the opposite that is true for black people. In 2025, white people in South Africa constitute 7% of the population that control at least 70% of private farmland the whole country. It is these privileges that they hold and are aware of that when Donald Trump offered asylums to Afrikaners, they displayed reluctance – that does not sound like people who are being violated. That does not sound like people who reasonably believe that they are about to be violated. This refusal by Afrikaners to take up Mr Trump’s offer is a projection of reality in South Africa, there is nothing, policy or otherwise, that threatens white people’s occupation of vast private land in South Africa. This whole scenario just proves the narrative fake that white land owners are being violently dispossessed of their property through the newly signed Act.
Like any other law, it is okay for anyone to show dissatisfaction with the Expropriation Act, and there are mechanisms and procedures to go about challenging any piece of legislation one does not agree with. It is then disappointing and unacceptable that AfriForum lobbies another state to sanction South Africa because of it’s policies which are within the prescription of that country’s Constitution. South Africa is a sovereign state, not a province of the USA, so it does not need the USA or any other state to tell it what laws should or should not be adopted. It is therefore commendable that President Cyril Ramaphosa made it clear that South Africa cannot be bullied.
