South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has firmly defended the country’s sovereignty following escalating tensions with the United States over race relations and the newly passed land expropriation law. Speaking at a Freedom Day event in Mpumalanga province on Sunday, ANC National Chairperson Gwede Mantashe emphasized, “We are a free country, we’re a sovereign country. We’re not a province of the United States and that sovereignty will be defended.” Mantashe was standing in for President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has faced mounting international scrutiny over the new legislation.
The controversy intensified after US President Donald Trump issued an executive order in February, criticizing South Africa’s Expropriation Bill. Trump accused the South African government of enabling the seizure of farmland from white minority Afrikaners without compensation, framing it as “unjust racial discrimination.” His executive order also opened a pathway for Afrikaners to seek refugee status in the US.
President Ramaphosa has defended the law, describing it as a tool to promote equitable land distribution and correct historical injustices stemming from the apartheid era. The law permits land seizure without compensation, but only under specific conditions, such as abandoned properties or land used for illegal purposes. Tensions have also spilled onto social media, with South African-born billionaire Elon Musk labeling the land reforms “racist” on his X (formerly Twitter) platform. Musk’s remarks fueled further international debate over South Africa’s land policies.
The situation worsened after South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was expelled from Washington following his accusation that Trump was engaging in “dog whistle” racial politics. In response, Ramaphosa appointed former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas as a special envoy to Washington earlier this month to repair diplomatic ties and promote bilateral relations. Additionally, officials from Orania—a whites-only Afrikaner town established after apartheid—recently visited the US seeking recognition as an autonomous state, further highlighting internal racial divisions.
In his speech, Mantashe dismissed calls for Afrikaners to seek refugee status abroad and suggested greater integration of Orania’s isolated community, stating, “Black people must go and build there, and we mix them. Hatred can never survive peace. It is peace that builds a nation.” The broader debate underscores the deep historical wounds left by apartheid and the complexities of balancing racial justice, property rights, and national sovereignty in post-apartheid South Africa.
