Thuli Madonsela: AfriForum struggles with white people being ‘ordinary’ citizens in new South Africa

As raging debate continues to divide South African communities over AfriForum’s role in attracting the arbitrary sanctioning of Pretoria by United States President Donald Trump, former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela believes the lobby group’s actions have been morally reprehensible.

IOL reported last month that lobby groups AfriForum and Solidarity have faced unprecedented backlash within South Africa, after Trump unleashed a raft of sanctions against South Africa, including cutting financial aid which benefitted millions of poor individuals.

The lobby groups have led long-running campaigns in the United States, engaging top Washington officials and appealing for action against South Africa’s transformation and expropriation laws. 

Madonsela, a professor of law and chair of the Law Trust Research in Social Justice at Stellenbosch University in Western Cape told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that in the context of South Africa, AfriForum is struggling with the reality of having all citizens being rated as ordinary, with no special sections.

“I think AfriForum is struggling with the reality of being ordinary, because the new South Africa requires all of us to be ordinary, whereas colonialism and apartheid made white people special people,” she told the television channel.

“I think some white people, and AfriForum in particular is seeking to reverse the wheel and find reason to be special again. They seem to have found an ally in the American president and clearly that is neither compatible with social justice nor compatible with human rights as we celebrate Human Rights Month in South Africa.”

On Sunday, IOL reported that Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has thrown down the gauntlet to AfriForum, ordering the controversial Afrikaner rights group to provide evidence contrary to the crime statistics on the so-called farm murders.

According to crime statistics for the third quarter (1 October 2024 - 31 December 24), only one person who was a farmer was reported as murdered. 

However, AfriForum has vehemently disputed this.

Both the minister and Afriforum remain deadlocked over the issue of farm murders prolificacy, with Mchunu challenging the lobby group to back their claims with evidence. 

In a brief interview with the Daily News, Mchunu challenged AfriForum, demanding verifiable evidence that contradicts his ministry's statistics.

“We thoroughly work to produce accurate crime statistics to reflect the country’s crime statistics situation. We will not allow any posturing by an organisation such as AfriForum to cause unnecessary uncertainty. We will await them providing us with evidence,” said Mchunu. 

Weighing in on the statistics, Madonsela said even though the SA Police Service might under-report on other crimes like rape, she believes it would be impossible to under-report on murder cases.

Last month, IOL reported that Trump had made good on his promise to cut funding to South Africa over the government’s land expropriation policy and resettle white farmers whose land will allegedly be expropriated.

In a late-night Executive Order, Trump accused South Africa’s government of “egregious actions” without providing any evidence, saying the recently enacted Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 (Act) would seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation.

jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za

IOL