Gareth Cliff Mocks Ronald Lamola Linking US Visa Restrictions to Afrikaner Lobbying

• Gareth Cliff took a swipe at International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola over his remarks on US visa restrictions against South Africa
• Lamola suggested that lobbying by groups claiming to represent Afrikaner interests played a role in Washington's targeted visa measures
• Mzansi weighed in on Cliff's reaction, with opinions divided on both the radio personality and the minister's stance

Gareth Cliff had Mzansi talking on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, after he posted a cheeky translation of International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola's latest comments on the South Africa-US diplomatic row. In a single emoji-laden quip, the media personality made it clear he wasn't buying what the minister was selling.

Lamola had linked the United States' targeted visa restrictions on South African nationals to lobbying efforts by groups he said were claiming to represent Afrikaner interests. He signalled that Pretoria would press on with bilateral dialogue in a bid to repair the strained relationship between the two countries.

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Cliff's response on X was brief and cutting:

"Let me translate: '😩Wheeeeeeeeaaaaah'"

See Cliff's post that set off the debate below:

Why the US imposed visa restrictions on South Africa

The US restrictions were imposed against foreign nationals deemed responsible for, or complicit in, laws and policies enabling uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination, and the incitement of violence against minority groups in South Africa. Washington has also handed Pretoria a list of five demands, including scrapping broad-based black economic empowerment or at least exempting American companies from it, ending expropriation without compensation, prioritising farm killings as a policing matter, condemning the struggle song Kill the Boer, and demonstrating non-alignment by distancing South Africa from US adversaries, with Iran at the top of that list.

Lamola's framing of the restrictions as a product of Afrikaner lobbying drew both applause and ridicule, and Cliff's post poured fuel onto an already heated conversation.

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Mzansi reacts after Gareth Cliff mocks Lamola

The reactions under Cliff's post ranged from supportive to scathing:

@Peter_Savege wrote:

"Lamola and Ramaphosa must grow a pair, and call out AfriForum specifically. .. not this. Insinuation. Must South Africans know their White Genocide story has been paddled for years."

@proudSAn2026 asked simply:

"But is he lying?"

@Mapentz was unimpressed with Cliff:

"Which world do you live in? It's definitely not in South Africa. Or have you become so desperate that anything goes with you? As long as you get paid? What happened to you, Gareth?"

@hoenderholle laughed it off:

"😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Now he is trying his usual tactics again ………and he sounds funny to most South Africans. What an idiot!"

@Akiel_Weshi took a different jab at the radio host:

"I thought you were farming in the States; go and compete with the Monday Night Show in the West..."

Kallie Kriel reacts to US visa restrictions

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In a related development, AfriForum Chief Executive Officer Kallie Kriel weighed in on the new visa restrictions imposed upon certain individuals in South Africa.

AfriForum placed responsibility on the South African government, saying it failed to act on two of the United States' demands.

Source: Briefly News