AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel Disagrees With Donald Trump’s White Genocide Claims in South Africa
- Kallie Kriel has discussed Donald Trump's claims of white genocide in South Africa during an interview on eNCA
- The United States President has maintained that white Afrikaners were being persecuted in South Africa
- The AfriForum Chief Executive Officer (CEO) also explained the lobby group's stance on the claims
Source: Getty Images
Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has spent a decade covering the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.
GAUTENG – Kallie Kriel has publicly disagreed with Donald Trump’s claims that there is a white genocide in South Africa.
The AfriForum Chief Executive Officer (CEO) made the comment during an appearance on The People's Court on eNCA. During his interview, Kriel was questioned about the white genocide narrative being pushed by the United States President.
Trump has maintained that terrible things are happening in South Africa, claiming that white Afrikaners are being persecuted and their lands are being taken away.
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Trump started making the claims after the Expropriation Act was signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, and AfriForum and Solidarity visited the US to draw attention to what they deemed ‘race laws’ in South Africa.
Kriel discusses white genocide claims
Speaking to host Nqaba Mabece, Kriel stated that AfriForum says that there is an attack on them, but not a genocide. Mabece then pushed for a more definitive answer from the AfriForum CEO.
“Do you accept what Trump has said, and has been peddled in America, that there is a white genocide of white farmers in South Africa. Do you accept that statement or do you reject that statement?” he asked.
Kriel then stated that they disagreed with Trump’s narrative.
“The problem South Africa has is because we don’t look at our own interests. We should not have friends or enemies. AfriForum does not have friends or enemies.
“We say what is in our interest. It is in our interest to be thankful when President Trump recognises the many problems in the country,” he added.
Trump doubles down on white genocide in South Africa claims
In previous reports shared by Briefly News, Donald Trump has maintained that there’s a white genocide taking place in South Africa, insisting that it needs to be stopped.
Trump, the President of the United States of America, has previously falsely stated that a section of people was being persecuted in the country. He claimed in the past that Afrikaners were being killed, and their land had been taken away.
He even offered South Africans refuge in the US if they felt that they were being persecuted in the country.
Source: UGC
Ramaphosa meets Trump over genocide claims
Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa has been hard at work to dispel Trump's allegations. The president embarked on a working visit to the United States to reset relations between the US aHowend South Africa. The meeting, held on 21 May 2025, took an intense turn after US President Donald Trump said that white farmers are being killed in South Africa.
However, presidential spokesperson Vincent Mangwenya said that the world only saw one side of the meeting and not what happened behind closed doors. According to Mangwenya, the real discussions occurred in private.
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Proofreading by Kelly Lippke, copy editor at Briefly.co.za.
Source: Briefly News
Sibusisiwe Lwandle (Head of Entertainment) Sibusisiwe Lwandle is the Head of Current Affairs at Briefly News (joined in 2019). She holds a Masters Degree and short course certificates from Yale and UCL. She has 14 years of experience in media, having worked in print, online, and broadcast media. She has worked at Independent Media and 1KZNTV and has contributed columns to the Washington Post. Passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. Email: sibusisiwe.lwandle@briefly.co.za
Byron Pillay (Current Affairs Editor) Byron Pillay is a Current Affairs Editor at Briefly News. He received a Diploma in Journalism from the Caxton Cadet School. He spent 15 years covering politics, crime and current affairs. He was also the Head of Department for Sports Brief, where he covered both local and international sporting news. Email: byron.pillay@briefly.co.za
