South African President Cyril Ramaphosa verbally attacked the group of white South Africans, known as Afrikaners, who arrived in the United States this week under refugee status granted by President Donald Trump, calling them “cowards” and saying their departure is a “sad moment.” His comments come as the South African government continues to increase its chokehold on the rights of the white minority.
Speaking at an agricultural expo in South Africa’s Free State province on Monday, Ramaphosa said the Afrikaners who left were unwilling to face the country’s political changes, which as of recent include politicians calling for the shooting deaths of white Boers. “If you look at all national groups in our country, black and white, they've stayed in this country because it's our country and we must not run away from our problems. We must stay here and solve our problems,” he said, according to the BBC. “When you run away you are a coward, and that's a real cowardly act.”
The group of Afrikaners landed at Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC on Monday. They were greeted by top American officials, including Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau, who told the arrivals, “Welcome to the land of the free.”
Trump has said the group was fleeing a “terrible situation” in South Africa, a claim echoed by his close ally Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa. Both men have pointed out that there is a “genocide” against white farmers in the country—allegations that have been widely challenged by South Africa.
At the same time, the US has accused the South African government of targeting white landowners without compensation—pointing to a law that does just that. Ramaphosa signed a law that allows land to be expropriated without compensation if it is found to be “equitable and in the public interest.” Officials claim no land has been taken so far under the legislation.
Ramaphosa, addressing an Africa CEO forum earlier the same day in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, said he recently spoke to Trump directly about the matter. “We’re the only country on the continent where the colonizers came to stay and we have never driven them out of our country,” he said, according to Le Monde. He denied that Afrikaners were being persecuted and said the individuals who arrived in the US “don’t fit the bill” for refugee status.
Ramaphosa said the departures are rooted in discomfort with the country’s attempts to deal with economic and land disparities stemming from apartheid. “As South Africans, we are resilient. We don't run away from our problems,” he said, complaining that the white South Africans fleeing persecution fled at all. “I can bet you that they will be back soon because there is no country like South Africa.”
Trump has threatened to skip the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa unless the “situation” is resolved.