Fact-Checking Trump’s Claims on White South African Farmers

US President Donald Trump held a contentious meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, during which he repeated allegations of systematic killings of white South African farmers. Trump claimed that white farmers are fleeing South Africa due to persecution and genocide. However, these claims have been repeatedly debunked by South African officials and independent analysts.

According to Anthony Kaziboni, a senior researcher at the University of Johannesburg, “There is no credible evidence to support the claim that white farmers in South Africa are being systematically targeted as part of a campaign of genocide.” While South Africa does experience high levels of violent crime, the data suggests that farm murders are not specifically targeted at white farmers. In fact, between April and December 2024, there were 19,696 murders in South Africa, with only 36 connected to farms, and seven of those victims were farmers.

Trump also showed Ramaphosa a video that he claimed showed “burial sites of thousands of white farmers” with white crucifixes lined up along a highway. However, the video was actually footage of a 2020 protest related to the killings of a white South African couple, Glenn and Vida Rafferty, where crosses were symbolically planted on the side of the road. Local records and reports confirmed that these were not gravestones, as Trump falsely asserted.

Furthermore, Trump’s claims that nothing happens to those who carry out farm murders are inaccurate. In November 2022, two men were convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murders of the Rafferty couple. The South African government has also taken steps to address farm violence, and the law allows for the government to seize land from private owners for public purposes and public interests.

During the meeting, Trump’s team also showed a video of Julius Malema, an opposition figure, singing the anti-apartheid song “Dubul’ ibhunu” (“Kill the Boer”) at a rally. Ramaphosa told Trump that he has repeatedly condemned Malema’s statements, which do not reflect the official government position. Malema has stated that “we are not calling for the slaughter of white people, at least for now.”

Kaziboni emphasized that Trump’s framing of South Africa “misrepresents both the facts and the deeper history.” He added that “the evidence he presents is unknown, even unknown to the South African President, Ramaphosa.” The researcher stressed the importance of not reducing complex issues to simplistic narratives driven by ideological agendas.