Report says conservative Afrikaner groups reject Trump’s ‘genocide’ claims ahead of Ramaphosa’s U.S. visit

Afrikaner farmers, at the center of an extraordinary new U.S. refugee policy, roamed a memorial to victims of farm attacks in South Africa’s agricultural heartland — some pausing to touch the engraved names of both Black and white victims.

This comes just days before South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to meet his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, at the White House on Wednesday, according to Africanews.

In Bothaville, where thousands of farmers gathered for a bustling agricultural fair featuring everything from grain to firearms, even some conservative Afrikaner groups dismissed the Trump administration’s claims of “genocide” and mass land seizures — assertions that have prompted the U.S. to cut all financial aid to South Africa.

The fair scene appeared anything but dire: milkshakes, burgers, and children with blonde hair being pulled in wagons painted a picture of rural normalcy.

The late President Nelson Mandela — South Africa’s first Black leader — had once stood in Bothaville more than 25 years ago and acknowledged the rise in violent farm attacks in the years following apartheid.

“But the complex problem of crime on our farms, as elsewhere, demands long-term solutions,” Mandela had said.

Many at the fair agreed — and few saw fleeing the country as the solution.

“I really hope that during the upcoming visit to Washington, [President Ramaphosa] will be able to set the record straight — that there is no mass land expropriation in South Africa, and no genocide,” said Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen, who is part of the delegation heading to the U.S.

The spotlight has turned to the white Afrikaner minority after the U.S. granted refugee status to at least 49 individuals claiming to flee racial persecution and violent land seizures — despite little evidence supporting such claims.

While safety concerns among farmers remain real, attendees at the fair were quick to note that violent crime affects both Black and white farmers alike — a fact supported by South Africa’s official crime statistics.

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