Trump calls out South Africa

After being “Zelenskyed” by Donald Trump in the Oval Office, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa should be in no doubt about the need to do much more to protect his country’s farmers – black and white, but especially the white Afrikaner farmers the US President believes are being driven off their land by “genocide”.

Mr Ramaphosa was quick to refute the charge. But Mr Trump’s carefully choreographed ambush, which included showing a telling video mash-up of some extremist South African political leaders shouting “kill the Boers” (Afrikaners), and clips of white crosses stretching far into the distance on a rural road Mr Trump claimed were part of a burial site for murdered white farmers, indicate he is unlikely to change his mind about “genocide”. South Africa is likely to pay a heavy price if it fails to act decisively on the issue.

Mr Ramaphosa may point out, as he did during the White House ambush, that his ruling African National Congress party is not among those that have been calling for violence, even though it favours wholesale land redistribution. His defence over the farm attacks has not been helped by formerly pro-Western South Africa’s slide into ever closer anti-Israel and anti-Semitic alliances with Hamas and Hezbollah and their Iranian paymasters, as well as with the rapidly expanding BRICS group of nations dominated by China, Russia and Iran.

Reliable statistics on the number of white farmers killed are hard to come by. Post-apartheid South African crime statistics do not distinguish between black and white victims. But estimates are that in 2022-23 some 60 white farmers were among those murdered – frequently in the most horrendous way (Mr Trump spoke of some having been decapitated).

Whatever the precise number, there can be no doubt about the challenge it represents for Mr Ramaphosa with Mr Trump in the White House. The US administration has already suspended all aid to South Africa. It has also expelled Pretoria’s ambassador in Washington, while welcoming the first batch of 60 Afrikaner refugees and preparing for the arrival of many hundreds more.

Mr Trump declined to say whether he would attend the next G20 summit due in South Africa in November. After US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to attend a recent G20 foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg, the likelihood is Mr Trump won’t. Mr Ramaphosa would be wise to move swiftly to ensure the safety of his country’s farmers.