Ramaphosa Blasts Afrikaners Granted U.S. Asylum: “Cowards Who Fled Their Country”
President Cyril Ramaphosa has fiercely criticised a group of 59 white South Africans—Afrikaners—who recently resettled in the United States after being granted refugee status.
Speaking at an agricultural exhibition in the Free State province, Ramaphosa called their move an act of cowardice, asserting that they do not meet the criteria for refugee protection.
According to a report by the BBC, Ramaphosa remarked that the group “will be back soon,” dismissing their claims of persecution as baseless. He argued that their departure stems from disapproval of the government’s efforts to redress apartheid-era injustices, not from genuine fear or threat.
“If you look at all national groups in our country—black and white—they’ve stayed because this is our country,” he said. “We must not run away from our problems; we must solve them. When you run away, you are a coward.”
Ramaphosa described the Afrikaners’ decision to leave as “a sad moment for them” and rejected the narrative that white South Africans are being persecuted. “We’re the only country on the continent where the colonisers came to stay, and we have never driven them out,” he said.
The group’s acceptance into the U.S. stems from a 2018 directive under President Donald Trump, who claimed white South African farmers were victims of “unjust racial discrimination.”
This policy, widely criticised, prioritised white asylum seekers while severely limiting admissions for refugees from war-torn nations like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar.
Reports by The New York Times revealed that U.S. officials fast-tracked Afrikaner asylum applications, with teams deployed to Pretoria to screen over 8,000 individuals. Ultimately, around 100 were deemed eligible for resettlement.
Critics have argued that this marks a troubling shift in U.S. refugee policy, favouring a minority group with significant economic power.
Despite apartheid ending over 30 years ago, white South Africans still control about 75% of private land and possess substantially more wealth than the Black majority. Unemployment remains lowest among whites.
Tensions around land reform have further fuelled these debates. In January, Ramaphosa signed a law enabling land expropriation without compensation under certain conditions.
Although no land has yet been seized, the legislation has drawn sharp criticism, including from the Trump administration, which accused South Africa of targeting white farmers.
About The Author
