ANC lashes Kallie Kriel and AfriForum, urges crackdown on groups ‘colluding with foreign forces’
ANC top officials - Maropene Ramokgopa, Nomvula Paula Mokonyane, Fikile Mbalula, Gwede Mantashe, Cyril Ramaphosa, Paul Mashatile and Gwen Ramokgopa. The former liberation movement said AfriForum is engaged “reckless, racist, and deliberate campaign” to distort the narrative.
Image: Theo Jeptha
The African National Congress has called on the South African government to act “firmly and decisively” against AfriForum and its chief executive Kallie Kriel, accusing them of undermining constitutional institutions, spreading racial hatred, and colluding with external forces, as tensions escalate over the raid on a Johannesburg facility processing US-bound refugees.
In a statement, the ANC said AfriForum and Kriel were engaged in what it described as a “reckless, racist, and deliberate campaign” to distort a lawful Department of Home Affairs operation and portray South Africa as hostile through what it termed manufactured disinformation.
The former liberation movement said the arrest and deportation of seven Kenyan nationals for allegedly working illegally in South Africa had been cynically recast into a false narrative of racial persecution.
AfriForum chief executive Kallie Kriel
Image: File
“The lawful intervention by the Department of Home Affairs against unauthorized foreign nationals operating illegally in South Africa has been cynically distorted by AfriForum into a false narrative of racial persecution,” the ANC said.
The party accused AfriForum of deliberately internationalising a domestic law enforcement matter, exaggerating claims of victimhood and lobbying foreign political actors against South Africa, actions it said threatened social cohesion and national unity.
The ANC’s intervention comes amid a rapidly escalating diplomatic row following an intelligence-driven operation in Johannesburg in which the Department of Home Affairs arrested seven Kenyan nationals found allegedly working at a centre processing applications for US-bound refugees while in possession of tourist visas.
"The ANC calls on the people of South Africa to rise and defend our democracy, rejecting AfriForum’s racist, disinformation campaign. We call on workers, youth, faith communities, progressive Afrikaners, and all peace-loving South Africans to refuse to stay silent in the face of provocation. Our freedom was won through sacrifice and struggle, not so that a small group could distort reality, insult the intelligence of our people, and endanger national unity," the ANC said in a statement.
"We further call on the South African government to act firmly and decisively, within the law, against any organisation or individual that persistently undermines constitutional institutions, spreads racial hatred, or colludes with external forces against South Africa. Our sovereignty is non-negotiable, and no one is above the law."
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation has defended the operation as lawful, rejected allegations of misconduct, and denied claims that South African authorities leaked personal information belonging to United States officials.
However, IOL reported on Thursday that the United States Embassy in Pretoria has condemned the raid, accusing South African authorities of detaining US officials performing humanitarian duties and warning of “severe consequences” should those responsible not be held accountable.
AfriForum, through Kriel, has also condemned the operation, claiming that US staff were detained and that Afrikaner applicants present at the facility were subjected to harassment and intimidation — allegations disputed by South African authorities.
In its statement, the ANC called on South Africans to reject what it described as divisive and dangerous narratives, urging workers, youth, faith communities and progressive Afrikaners to defend democracy and national unity.
The party further called on the government to act within the law against any organisation or individual that persistently undermines constitutional institutions, spreads racial hatred or colludes with external forces against South Africa.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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