President Cyril Ramaphosa has sharply criticized a group of 59 white South Africans, describing them as cowards after they relocated to the United States under refugee status granted by former President Donald Trump.
The group, largely Afrikaners, arrived in the US on Monday, claiming racial persecution in South Africa.
Addressing the situation during an agricultural expo in the Free State province, Ramaphosa said their departure reflects dissatisfaction with efforts to rectify historic injustices stemming from apartheid.
He called the move “a sad moment for them.”
“As South Africans, we are resilient. We don’t run away from our problems. We must stay here and solve our problems. When you run away you are a coward, and that’s a real cowardly act,” he said.
The US, under the Trump administration, accused the South African government of targeting white farmers through land reforms and supported the controversial claim, also amplified by South African-born entrepreneur Elon Musk, of a “genocide” against white farmers. That allegation has been widely debunked.
Over three decades since apartheid ended, land ownership in South Africa remains a divisive issue, with black citizens still owning only a minimal portion of prime farmland.
In January, Ramaphosa signed a contentious bill into law, allowing for the expropriation of land without compensation under specific conditions deemed “equitable and in the public interest.”
However, the government maintains that no land has yet been confiscated under the new law.
Trump, defending the Afrikaners’ decision to emigrate, described South Africa’s environment as a “terrible situation,” offering them safe haven in the US.
On arrival at Dulles Airport near Washington DC, the group, some carrying young children and waving miniature American flags, was welcomed by US officials.
“Welcome to the land of the free,” declared Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau during the reception, held in a space decorated with red, white, and blue balloons.
Back in South Africa, Ramaphosa stood firm in his stance. “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 emphasized.
“I can bet you that they will be back soon because there is no country like South Africa,” he added.
His remarks sparked outrage online, with some users interpreting his “coward” label as an affront to white South Africans experiencing hardship.
Speaking earlier at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Ramaphosa recounted a recent phone call with Trump, during which he challenged the US narrative, “We’re the only country on the continent where the colonisers came to stay and we have never driven them out of our country,” he said, asserting that Afrikaners are not under threat.
The US embassy in Pretoria has outlined eligibility criteria for refugee status, which Ramaphosa believes the emigrants fail to meet. “They don’t fit the bill,” he insisted.
Ramaphosa also revealed he would be engaging with Trump directly on the matter soon.
Meanwhile, Trump has reportedly threatened to skip the upcoming G20 summit scheduled to take place in South Africa unless the “situation is taken care of.”
