President Cyril Ramaphosa has sparked backlash after calling a group of 59 white South Africans “cowards” for relocating to the United States. The group, mainly Afrikaners, recently arrived in America after being granted refugee status by the Trump administration, which claims they face racial persecution at home.
Speaking at an agricultural event in the Free State on Monday, Ramaphosa said their departure was disappointing. “We are a resilient nation. We don’t run from our problems—we fix them. Running away is an act of cowardice,” he said.
He added that those leaving are unhappy with efforts to correct the lingering injustices of apartheid, calling it “a sad moment for them.”
The issue has ignited international attention, especially after Donald Trump and Elon Musk echoed claims of violence against white farmers in South Africa—claims widely dismissed by researchers and local authorities.
South Africa’s government recently passed a law that allows land to be taken without compensation under specific conditions. While no land has been seized yet, critics say the slow pace of land reform has deepened tensions. Black South Africans still own a small share of the country’s farmland more than 30 years after apartheid ended.
Trump has welcomed the Afrikaner group, saying they are escaping a “terrible situation.” They were received in Washington D.C. with small American flags and balloons, and U.S. officials expressed support, saying the families had lived under “a shadow of violence and terror.”
Ramaphosa, however, insists these claims are exaggerated. At a business summit in Ivory Coast earlier that day, he said he had told Trump directly that the U.S. narrative is false. “We are one of the few African countries where colonizers stayed, and we never expelled them,” he said, rejecting the idea that Afrikaners are being targeted.
He also questioned whether the group meets the standard definition of refugees, suggesting their departure was driven more by discomfort with social change than real danger.
Despite Ramaphosa’s strong words, some South Africans criticized him online, saying his remarks were dismissive of real fears felt by the white community.
The President hinted that he might meet with Trump soon to discuss the issue. Meanwhile, Trump has threatened to skip the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa unless the matter is addressed.
