Dr. Reneva Fourie
Earlier this month, the United States of America announced visa restrictions targeting people it accuses of discriminating against South Africa’s white, particularly Afrikaner, minority.
The method for identifying such persons remains unclear. South African’s must rise to defend the truth and protect our country’s sovereignty.
The restrictions were imposed despite a factual record confirming that there is no white genocide in South Africa and the multiple efforts at appeasement. A high-level delegation, led by President Ramaphosa and accompanied by Afrikaners, travelled to the United States to meet President Trump and explain why these claims are false.
The US embassy was invited to the African National Congress National General Council. South Africa appointed a reputable Afrikaner as its ambassador to the US. Tariff measures were adjusted in an effort to strengthen political and trade relations. Yet the claims continue.
For decades, South Africans fought apartheid. During the transitional negotiations, a small group of Afrikaner nationalists, including organisations such as Die Wit Wolwe and Die Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, indicated a willingness to employ subversive tactics to derail the process and safeguard their apartheid privileges.
Some even threatened the use of nuclear capability. This occurred despite the overwhelming majority of South Africans having expressed a clear preference for a non-racial, united and democratic country.
South Africa now possesses a constitution that reflects the interests of all who live within its borders. The constitutional order that emerged from the negotiated settlement of the 1990s rests on equality before the law and the rejection of racial hierarchy.
Those principles were hard-won and continue to guide policies ranging from land reform and economic empowerment to protecting language and cultural rights.
Relative political stability has been maintained. The democratic institutions established are more robust than those of many other countries, including the US. Public institutions, notably the judiciary, the Independent Electoral Commission and the Chapter Nine institutions, operate with a degree of independence that has been tested and largely upheld.
Yet a small group of white supremacists who have failed to attract meaningful domestic support continue to promote their agenda by mobilising foreign governments and organisations.
They disseminate misleading information about South African policies and programmes, undermining the constitution. They work to sabotage the country’s international relations and cripple its economy.
President Trump, whose political outlook aligns with right-wing supremacist positions worldwide, has chosen to amplify their ambitions. This amplification has little to do with his respect for human rights but rather appears to be linked to his disdain for South Africa’s independent foreign-policy stance, its decision to bring a case against Israel before the International Court of Justice on the charge of genocide, and its participation in the BRICS partnership.
The political repercussions of the visa restrictions against South Africa will probably be very small. The US is becoming increasingly isolated globally. President Trump is also losing domestic support as he has shown that he is many cards short of a full deck. SA has managed to retain people-to-people and business-to-business relations and remains part of AGOA.
In 2025, bilateral trade in goods and services between South Africa and the United States amounted to about 28.8 billion United States dollars. However, visa delays can disrupt contracts, investment decisions and long-term partnerships. This is why President Ramaphosa's efforts to keep engagement alive matter.
Ironically, US Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III expressed disappointment with Ramaphosa's handling of relations and suggested that former President Thabo Mbeki is best placed to break the diplomatic impasse. Mbeki is an accomplished statesman who understands international negotiation, and South Africa does not need an American ambassador to tell us this.
It is very undiplomatic of an American ambassador to publicly tell a president how to conduct his foreign relations. Furthermore, the suggestion risks creating a false impression that South Africa's problem is a failure of diplomatic skill.
Mbeki might indeed help resolve differences, but even the most accomplished diplomat cannot negotiate away the arrogant and disrespectful attitude of the Trump administration.
South Africa must nevertheless remain committed to engagement. The relationship with the United States will outlast Donald Trump, Cyril Ramaphosa and Leo Bozell. That is why we should neither surrender our sovereignty nor allow today's political disagreements to destroy tomorrow's relationship.
We should also not allow a tiny grouping to taint the country’s credibility and erode social cohesion. On 24 September, we celebrated Heritage Day. We braaied, sang and danced together. We should defend the unique cultural blend that constitutes South Africa. This heritage belongs to South Africans and has no place in foreign political theatre.
When right-wing voices attempt to bring racial hierarchy back into public discussion or to call for external pressure to be applied to democratic institutions, the proper course of action is to publicly reinforce the principle of a non-racial society.
Civic mobilisation in defence of constitutional values has a strong history in South Africa. The same forces that filled the streets shouting ‘Zuma must fall’ must once again fill the streets in defence of our democracy, our constitution and a united, non-racial society.
South Africans from all backgrounds should reject those who spread lies for political gain. We should defend the principle that no single community owns this country, and no foreign power can decide our future. We can never again return to the dark days of racial hatred and apartheid, and we can never be America’s puppets.
* Dr Reneva Fourie is a policy analyst specialising in governance, development and security.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Media Group.