AfriForum's recent meeting with the Trump administration sparks outrage in South Africa, with calls for treason against the lobby group.
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The leaders of lobby groups AfriForum and Solidarity have come under intense scrutiny following their recent meeting with members of the Donald Trump administration in the US.
On Tuesday, they urged officials to impose punitive actions against leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) while advocating for the rights and interests of Afrikaners in South Africa. Kallie Kriel, the chief executive of AfriForum, revealed that their audience at the White House stemmed from frustrations with the South African government's refusal to address their concerns.
He asserted that White House personnel were 'well-versed in South African affairs' and suggested that they are challenging the government's narrative surrounding farm killings — an issue that has inflamed tensions in the country. AfriForum believes the Expropriation Act undermines private property rights.
The backlash from South Africans has been swift and vehement, as calls mount for AfriForum to be branded treasonous for seeking foreign intervention in domestic politics. Criticism has been rife on social media platforms, with Ryan Cummings commenting on X, "For a civil organisation that claims to fight against 'reverse apartheid', it’s quite ironic that AfriForum is essentially lobbying for the creation of White Bantustans in a democratic South Africa."
Members of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have joined the fray, with prominent member Carl Niehaus demanding that upon returning to South Africa, "all of them must immediately be arrested for treason! This has really gone far too far."
Author Kim Heller weighed in on the debate, asserting that groups like AfriForum perpetuate a lingering sense of white supremacy in the nation. "White supremacy is well and kicking. AfriForum misses apartheid when the black man was a servant, not a ruler. Sies!"
Similarly, Naledi Mashishi expressed dismay at AfriForum's confidence in engaging with a US president described as dismantling his own country's institutions while advocating for ethnic cleansing policies abroad. "It says a lot that Solidarity and AfriForum feel so empowered to approach him in pursuit of their benefits in SA," she said.
The African Transformation Movement's Vuyo Zungula denounced the South African government's inaction against AfriForum and Solidarity, calling it complicity in their actions. "These groups should be deregistered, and their leaders charged with treason," he argued.
Political analyst Sandile Swana echoed these sentiments, remarking on AfriForum's reluctance to relinquish their alleged apartheid-era ideologies. "The behaviour of AfriForum has no redemption. Their commitment to apartheid can earn no forgiveness, just like that of Trump and Elon Musk. They undermine the Constitution and the sovereignty of South Africa."
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