MP CALLS FOR SANCTIONS AGAINST SOUTH AFRICAN RIGHT-WING LOBBY GROUPS

A South African member of Parliament has asked the government to take stern action against members of right-wing white-settler lobby groups widely believed to be behind the diplomatic spat with US President Donald Trump’s administration.

On 5 March, Wesley Douglas, an MP representing the UmKhonto weSizwe (MK) party, called on the foreign ministry to support his party's motion asking Parliament to summon and sanction members of white-settler organisation AfriForum. Members of the two groups recently travelled to the White House to discuss what they allege as mistreatment of white South Africans and a ‘white g*nocide’ against settler farmers. Douglas said their conduct is tantamount to undermining the country's economic stability.

Relations between South Africa and the US have hit a historic low in recent weeks following Trump signing an executive order suspending aid to the African state over unproven claims of violent attacks against white settlers. Trump's order came after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a new law allowing the government to confiscate private land without compensation under certain circumstances.

Most US aid in South Africa came under the auspices of the President's Emergency Plan for Aids (PEPFAR), a US fund launched in 2003 to help fight AIDS in countries with high HIV infection rates.

Douglas said the US measures will likely hit the country's most vulnerable, so those who caused the sanctions should not be allowed to walk free.

Last month, Douglas' party opened a treason case against AfriForum, accusing it of lobbying ‘foreign powers to act against the sovereignty and economic interests of South Africa.’

Video credit: Parliament of the Republic of South Africa/YouTube (@parliamentofRSA on X)

Sources

https://www.hiv.gov/federal-response/pepfar-global-aids/pepfar

https://mg.co.za/politics/2025-03-05-afriforum-reiterates-calls-for-us-sanctions-against-ramaphosa

https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-trump-afrikaner-aid-freeze-c93da366d91ec386adf99099441cf565

https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/mk-party-accuses-afriforum-of-economic-sabotage-fa6310e9-7f62-42f7-94bb-ca82d3ae8cb5

https://www.ewn.co.za/2025/02/10/mk-pary-opens-treason-case-against-afriforum