Trump Government Plans Nearly $1 Million Grant for AfriForum, Report Says
- The US State Department is reportedly preparing to award South African lobby group AfriForum nearly $1 million to document crimes against Afrikaners
- Former US officials and lawmakers criticised the funding decision, raising concerns about AfriForum's credibility and the lack of transparency
- The proposed grant follows an earlier plan to fund Lex Libertas, an organisation founded by a former AfriForum executive
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US - The United States government is reportedly preparing to hand South African lobby group AfriForum close to $1 million, roughly R18 million, to investigate crimes against white South Africans.
According to an investigation by US-based publication ProPublica, the proposed grant of $986,500 would come from the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. The funding is intended to support efforts to document hateful rhetoric and violent acts against Afrikaners and other minority communities in South Africa.
Criticism from former officials and lawmakers
The move has drawn sharp criticism from people inside and outside the US government. David Jandura, a former State Department official who oversaw the Africa portfolio, questioned the decision to direct nearly $1 million to a single group while humanitarian programmes in other countries have been cut.
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"It's offensive to provide funding solely to this one group after we've cut off funding in countries undergoing real documented crises," Jandura said.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also raised concerns, describing the administration's failure to properly brief Congress on the matter as unacceptable.
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AfriForum has not confirmed the funding
AfriForum, which advocates for the rights and interests of Afrikaners, has long campaigned on issues including farm attacks, arguing that the community faces discrimination and violence. Independent researchers, however, have disputed claims that white farmers are being systematically targeted, and two formal inquiries in South Africa have not established a pattern of targeted violence against Afrikaners.
When ProPublica approached AfriForum, the organisation did not directly confirm receiving the grant. It said its understanding was that the allocation had not yet been finalised, and that a public announcement would follow if the funding was awarded.
The proposed grant originally formed part of an earlier plan to fund Lex Libertas, an organisation founded by former AfriForum executive Ernst Roets. After criticism from US lawmakers, the State Department opened the opportunity to other applicants.
The Trump administration has made the treatment of white South Africans a central foreign policy concern.
Trump plans to admit more Afrikaners into the US
Previously, Briefly News reported that the Trump administration outlined a plan to admit up to 17,500 refugees into the US during the 2027 fiscal year, with Afrikaners forming the majority The State Department sent the notice to Congress on 22 September 2026, citing alleged discrimination against racial minorities in South Africa The resettlement programme is expected to cost the US government approximately $500 million, with Afrikaners already arriving under an earlier exemptioN.
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Source: Briefly News
