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Apartheid 2.0? South Africa Blasts US over Afrikaner Refugee Programme
A fresh diplomatic storm
South Africa’s government has come out swinging against Washington after the United States granted Afrikaners a special refugee pathway into the country. Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola described the programme as “apartheid 2.0” and argued it was a step backwards into the kind of racial favouritism South Africans fought so hard to dismantle.
The first group of around 50 Afrikaners landed at Washington Dulles International Airport in May, with more expected to follow. They were admitted under a refugee exception authorised by President Donald Trump’s administration, which argued that Afrikaners face “discrimination” and even “genocide” in South Africa. Pretoria has flatly rejected those claims, pointing out that official crime statistics show farm murders affect both Black and white South Africans.
Echoes of a painful history
The controversy cuts deep because Afrikaners were once the dominant political group that designed and enforced apartheid. For Pretoria, granting them preferential refugee status is a cruel twist, suggesting the international community is now rewarding a community whose forebears systematically denied freedom and opportunity to the majority population until democracy arrived in 1994.
Lamola stressed that South Africa has no obligation to assist the United States in this programme, which is reportedly being fast-tracked through a Christian NGO in Kenya, bypassing Pretoria entirely.
Strained ties beyond refugees
This is not the first point of tension between Pretoria and Washington in recent years. The United States expelled South Africa’s ambassador in March and slapped a 30% tariff on exports, a move that risks thousands of local jobs. At the heart of the rift are South Africa’s policies on land reform and economic redress, which Washington has criticised, while Pretoria insists they are vital to undo apartheid’s lingering inequalities.
Lamola also dismissed the latest US Human Rights Report, which accused South Africa of worsening standards, calling it biased and disconnected from local realities.
A bigger picture
The clash is about far more than visas. It highlights how sensitive the legacy of apartheid remains in international relations and how the framing of “victims” can shift depending on political convenience. For many South Africans, especially those who endured apartheid’s brutality, the idea that Afrikaners need protection from genocide feels both inaccurate and offensive.
With trade talks underway and Washington expected to send a congressional team to Pretoria, the Afrikaner refugee programme may prove more than just a symbolic issue. It could shape the future of one of Africa’s most important international partnerships.
Also read: Caught in the Crossfire: South African Influencers and the Alabuga Start Controversy
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Source: Business Insider Africa
Featured Image: News24
