South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has sharply criticized a group of 59 white South Africans who recently emigrated to the United States after being granted refugee status by President Donald Trump. Speaking at an agricultural exhibition in the Free State province, Ramaphosa labelled the group as “cowards,” accusing them of abandoning the country instead of contributing to efforts to address the injustices of apartheid.
“As South Africans, we are resilient,” Ramaphosa said. “We don’t run away from our problems. When you run away, you are a coward, and that’s a real cowardly act.”
The group of Afrikaners, descendants of mainly Dutch settlers, arrived in Washington D.C. on Monday and were welcomed by U.S. officials, including Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau. Landau described them as people who had been “living under a shadow of violence and terror” in South Africa. Holding children and waving American flags, the group was received warmly, with red, white, and blue balloons adorning the airport arrival area.
The U.S. has claimed that the group faced racial discrimination and violence in South Africa, with Trump and South Africa-born billionaire Elon Musk previously describing the situation as a “genocide” of white farmers a claim widely discredited by independent observers and human rights groups.
Ramaphosa has rejected these allegations outright, stating that the narrative being pushed by Trump is false. “We’re the only country on the continent where the colonisers came to stay, and we have never driven them out,” he said. He added that those leaving South Africa are simply uncomfortable with the nation’s attempts to rectify historical inequalities, including a controversial land reform law passed in January that allows expropriation without compensation under certain conditions.
The President noted that no land has yet been seized under the new law and insisted that the group “don’t fit the bill” for refugee status. Ramaphosa also said he would raise the matter directly with Trump in an upcoming meeting. Trump has threatened to boycott the G20 summit in South Africa unless the matter is resolved.
