Kehinde Fajobi
Former US President Donald Trump on Sunday accused South Africa of “confiscating land” and discriminating against certain groups as he announced the suspension of US funding to the country pending an investigation.
“South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” he added.
The land debate in South Africa remains highly contentious, with efforts to address historical injustices drawing criticism from conservative circles, including billionaire Elon Musk, a key Trump adviser.
Last month, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a bill allowing the government, in certain cases, to expropriate land without compensation in the public interest.
Pretoria maintains that expropriation will not be arbitrary and will prioritise negotiations with landowners.
However, some critics fear a repeat of Zimbabwe’s controversial land seizures after independence, which saw white-owned farms taken over without compensation.
Speaking later to reporters, Trump doubled down on his criticism of South Africa’s leadership.
“So that’s under investigation right now. We’ll make a determination, and until such time as we find out what South Africa is doing — they’re taking away land and confiscating land, and actually, they’re doing things that are perhaps far worse than that.”
Land Ownership and Political Divisions
Land ownership remains deeply unequal in South Africa, where most farmland is still in white hands three decades after apartheid ended.
Courts have adjudicated on land disputes, and some property has been returned to Black families forcibly displaced under the 1913 Natives Land Act.
The issue has been a rallying point for conservatives like Musk and right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins, who claim white landowners are being unfairly targeted.
Musk, born in Pretoria in 1971, left South Africa in his late teens. He, along with other powerful Silicon Valley figures with ties to apartheid-era southern Africa, has been influential in Trump’s circle.
David Sacks, Trump’s newly appointed AI and cryptocurrency adviser, co-founded PayPal with Musk, while billionaire Peter Thiel, another PayPal co-founder, also spent time in apartheid-controlled Namibia.
Thiel has previously been accused of sympathising with the apartheid system, though his spokesperson has denied these claims.