No, Mr Trump — There Is No Genocide in South Africa

By Fr Mathibela Sebothoma

US President Donald Trump has once again made reckless and inflammatory claims — this time accusing South Africa of perpetrating a so-called “white genocide.” This allegation is not only false, but also dangerous, as it stokes racial tension, misrepresents the lived realities of South Africans, and undermines our long, difficult — yet determined — journey towards justice, reconciliation, and democracy.

Let us be clear: there is no genocide in South Africa.

Trump’s assertions resurface every few years, often echoed by far-right groups who cherry-pick statistics on farm murders or land reform to suit a narrative of white victimhood. These are not innocent misunderstandings. They are deliberate distortions, weaponised to ignore context, history, and — most importantly — facts.

What Do the Numbers Really Say?

South Africa certainly faces a serious crime problem, and it affects people across all racial and economic backgrounds. It is tragic and wholly unacceptable. Farmers — African and White alike — have been victims of violent attacks. But the suggestion that white South Africans are being systematically targeted for extermination is completely unfounded.

Data from the South African Police Service (SAPS), along with independent researchers such as Africa Check, consistently show that farm murders constitute a very small fraction of total murders. More importantly, victims of violent crime in South Africa are overwhelmingly poor and African, living in under-serviced townships and informal settlements.

To refer to this as “genocide” is a deep insult to those who have survived actual genocides — in Rwanda, Darfur, Armenia, Bosnia, or during the Holocaust.

A Pattern of Contempt

This isn’t the first time Mr Trump has displayed contempt for African people. In 2018, during a discussion on immigration at the White House, he notoriously referred to African countries as “shithole countries.” That was no gaffe — it was a window into a mindset that sees Africa not as a continent of dignity and diversity, but as a disposable backwater.

So we must ask: how can such a person suddenly claim to care about South Africans — and only when they’re white? His so-called concern is not about justice. It is rooted in the same ideology that fuelled apartheid: that white life is more valuable than black life.

The Real Struggles — and Our Enduring Resilience

We don’t deny that South Africa has problems. We are still healing from the wounds of apartheid — an actual, state-sponsored system of racial oppression and economic exploitation. We are striving to redistribute land, redress inequality, and build a society in which everyone has a place. It’s a slow and painful process — but it is ours. It is not for foreign demagogues, particularly those with a track record of racism and dishonesty, to lecture us on our path forward.

South Africa’s democratic institutions and constitutional values stand as a direct rebuke to Trump’s claims. Just this week, 49 Afrikaners were chartered to the USA by the Trump administration — they left peacefully, without harassment from police or fellow citizens. Earlier this year, right-wing Afrikaners protested in the heart of Pretoria. Not a single rubber bullet was fired. Not one teargas canister was launched.

Afrikaans — one of our 11 official languages — is more widely spoken than many indigenous African languages. Communities like Orania in the Northern Cape, or Klipfontein in Tshwane, operate freely, even when their exclusivity has been legally challenged by our courts.

Unlike the USA, where a president can issue executive orders with sweeping authority, our head of state’s power is limited. We have a multiparty parliamentary democracy, and an independent judiciary that protects the rights of all — even undocumented migrants.

The Democratic Alliance (mostly White) — South Africa’s second-largest political party — co-governs with the African National Congress. We know how to compromise. We know how to coexist. Those who peddle “white genocide” myths — often with links to apartheid-era parties like the National Party, Conservative Party, or extremist movements like the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) — are outliers, not the norm.

South Africans live, work, and play side by side. The Springboks, once a symbol of white nationalism, are now celebrated by all races. Even in the face of unspeakable tragedies — from Sharpeville in 1960, Soweto in 1976, the States of Emergency, to the 1993 assassination of Chris Hani — South Africans did not turn to vengeance. We chose reconciliation.

Trump’s True Motives

Trump’s talk about “killing white farmers” is not rooted in humanitarian concern. It is a political dog whistle, no different from his comments about Mexican migrants, Muslims, or Black Lives Matter activists. It is about fear, division, and deceit.

It is disheartening that some South Africans abroad — such as Elon Musk or Joel Barry Pollak, both beneficiaries of apartheid-era privilege — use their platforms to amplify these falsehoods. They help feed an American narrative that demonises South Africa. Yet most of us would never dream of seeking asylum in a country that routinely deports genuine refugees from conflict zones.

As Oliver Tambo once said, “Our target is not negotiations; it is the end of the apartheid system. There can be no compromise about that.” We are still working towards that goal — a just, equal, and peaceful society.

South Africans Deserve Better

What we need from the global community is not pity, not panic, and certainly not propaganda. We need genuine partnerships — for youth development, for safety in rural areas, for access to education and justice. We need investment, not interference.

South Africans — Black, White, Coloured, Indian, and everyone in between — share this country. We argue. We pray. We protest. We laugh. We cry. We love. And we live together.

But we are not committing genocide.

If you truly care about South Africa, uplift the voices that speak for peace, not provocation. For truth, not terror. For unity, not Trump.