The South African president’s office vowed Wednesday to fight the “treasonous act of misinformation,” which it blames for spreading abroad what it considers false narratives about the persecution of white Afrikaners.
The warning came two days after the first charter flight of several dozen Afrikaner refugees arrived in the U.S. On Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa called the refugees “cowards” for “running away” — a sentiment that his party, the African National Congress (ANC), echoed. The ANC claimed that the Afrikaners were not being persecuted, while faulting them for abandoning “transformation,” a policy of racial economic redistribution.
Ramaphosa’s representative, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, appeared in the National Council of Provinces, one of South Africa’s two main legislative houses, to answer parliamentary questions.
She said that the State Security Agency (SSA), an intelligence ministry, was focused on “any disinformation campaigns, foreign meddling and treasonous acts,” the Daily Maverick reported.
The Daily Maverick added:
People from South Africa have visited the US to detail their stance on issues, including farm murders. Among them were representatives of Afrikaner interest group AfriForum.
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“The State Security Agency is vigilant against disinformation campaigns, cyber operations and ideological influences that could destabilise public trust in democratic institutions.”
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She later said that “the law enforcement agencies are investigating the treasonous act of misinformation”.
Ntshaveni also confirmed that police were investigating “treason in terms of the false information being spread,” in reference to AfriForum, a group that represents Afrikaners and has visited the United States.
When Breitbart News reported in March that the South African government had opened a “treason” case against the group, pro-government voices claimed — falsely, it turns out — that it was not an official inquiry.
The South African government was sufficiently proud of Ntshaveni’s remarks that it posted them on X:
In response to the presidency’s statement to the legislature, AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said on X that the South African government “now appears to be turning to the kind of undemocratic actions to silence critical voices that are characteristic of oppressive regimes.” He also tagged U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The South African government, and government-friendly media outlets, argue that President Donald Trump is wrong about claims of “genocide” against white South Africans, and claims that these are spread by racist white South Africans online and in person in the U.S., where they reach influential people close to Trump.
However, as Breitbart News has pointed out, while claims of “genocide” are premature, they are not alarmist, given the prevalence of incendiary rhetoric against Afrikaners, as well as racially discriminatory policies and threats of expropriation.
President Ramaphosa is due to travel to the U.S. to meet Trump in person next week.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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