As South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa gears up to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, Afrikaner farmers wandered through a farm attack memorial in the country’s agricultural hub, reflecting quietly on the names etched there, Black and white victims alike.
In Bothaville, the scene was festive as thousands flocked to an agricultural fair showcasing everything from crops to firearms. Yet, even among conservative white Afrikaner circles, there was pushback against the Trump administration’s claims of “genocide” and mass land seizures, allegations that led to the U.S. halting all financial support to South Africa.
The event carried on with an air of normalcy: milkshakes flowed, burgers sizzled, and blond-haired children rode by in little wagons, AP reported.
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More than 25 years ago, South Africa’s first Black president, Nelson Mandela, stood in this very town and acknowledged the troubling rise in violent farm attacks following the collapse of apartheid. “But the complex problem of crime on our farms, as elsewhere, demands long-term solutions,” he said at the time.
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Today, many attendees at the fair dismissed the idea of fleeing the country in fear.
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“I really hope that during the upcoming visit to Washington, (President Cyril Ramaphosa) is going to be able to put the facts before his counterpart and to demonstrate that there is no mass expropriation of land taking place in South Africa, and there is no genocide taking place,” said Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, who is set to join Ramaphosa’s delegation in Washington.
The Afrikaner minority has drawn international attention since the U.S. granted refugee status to at least 49 individuals citing racial persecution and alleged land grabs, claims widely discredited by official reports.
Although safety concerns remain high among farmers, both Black and white, many emphasized that violent crime doesn’t discriminate by race, a fact supported by national crime data.
Thobani Ntonga, a Black farmer from the Eastern Cape, recounted surviving a near-kidnapping on his property, thwarted only by the intervention of a neighboring Black farmer.
“Crime affects both Black and white. … It’s an issue of vulnerability,” he said. “Farmers are separated from your general public. We’re not near towns, we are in the rural areas. And I think it’s exactly that. So, perpetrators, they thrive on that, on the fact that farms are isolated.”
White farmers echoed Ntonga’s concerns, noting that isolation made farms prime targets—but firmly rejected the notion of a targeted campaign to drive them out.
“Crime especially hits small-scale farmers worse because they don’t have resources for private security,” said Willem de Chavonnes Vrugt, an Afrikaner farmer. He and others questioned why they should abandon the land that had been home to their families for generations.
“We are not interested in going anywhere,” he said. “The thing we want to do is be part of this country.”
President Ramaphosa, who is a cattle farmer himself, made his first appearance at the fair in nearly two decades, shopping for equipment and engaging with the public amid confusion over Washington’s stance on South Africa.
“We must not run away from our problems,” Ramaphosa told onlookers. “When you run away, you’re a coward.”
The expedited refugee approvals for Afrikaners have sparked broader debate, especially in contrast to the lengthy waiting periods faced by most asylum seekers in the U.S.
While the U.S. State Department has not disclosed the specific vetting process, an applicant described the system to the AP as “rigorous.”
Katia Beeden, part of a support group assisting white South Africans in the resettlement process, outlined the steps: three online interviews, detailed questionnaires about health and criminal history, and documentation proving persecution.
She shared her own experience of being robbed and locked in her bedroom by intruders.
“They’ve already warned that you can’t lie or hide anything from them. So it’s quite a thorough process and not everyone is guaranteed,” she said.
Although violent crime remains widespread in South Africa, experts note that the majority of victims are Black and impoverished. National data reports that as many as 75 people are murdered daily.
According to the Afrikaner agricultural union TLU SA, farmers’ remote locations make them particularly vulnerable to attacks.
In 2024, official police statistics recorded 12 murders on farms. Only one of the victims was a farmer, the rest included farm workers, residents, and a security guard. The racial identities of the victims were not specified.
South Africa’s broader murder rate also paints a grim picture, with 6,953 killings recorded last year alone.
Land ownership figures remain a flashpoint. According to a 2017 agricultural census, white farmers, numbering over 40,000 control roughly 80% of the country’s commercial farmland. However, this statistic only applies to farms generating at least $55,396 annually, thereby excluding numerous small-scale farmers, most of whom are Black.
Despite being just 7% of the population, white South Africans still hold the lion’s share of land. A 2017 government audit found they own 72% of all individually held land, while Black South Africans own just 15%.
The World Bank has called South Africa “the most unequal country in the world.”
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