South African opposition politician Julius Malema has brushed off the high-level meeting between Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump at the White House, calling it “a group of old men gossiping about me.”
The leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) made the comment after Trump paused the meeting on Wednesday to show a video of Malema chanting “Kill the Boer.”
Trump claimed that white farmers in South Africa were having their land taken and were being killed without anyone being held responsible.
In response, Malema said there is no reliable evidence to support the idea of a “white genocide” in South Africa.
He also repeated his party’s strong support for the expropriation of land from white farmers without compensation. Writing on X (formerly Twitter), he said:
A group of older men meet in Washington to gossip about me. No significant amount of intelligence evidence has been produced about white genocide.
We will not agree to compromise our political principles on land expropriation without compensation for political expediency.
A new and controversial law signed by President Ramaphosa earlier this year allows the South African government to take privately-owned land without paying for it in certain cases. However, the government says that no land has actually been taken under the law yet.
Zimbabwean opposition politician Linda Masarira said her party supports Julius Malema’s position on taking land without compensation.
Masarira, who leads the Labour Economists and Afrikan Democrats (LEAD) party, said powerful countries and some Western groups are trying to control, mock, or interfere with African countries’ decisions, especially when those decisions are about fixing past injustices.
She said this shows that colonial attitudes still exist and that some people struggle to accept Africa’s full independence.
She also said the idea of a “white genocide” is not only false, but has been created on purpose to make Black resistance look like a crime and to undermine Africa’s right to make its own choices. Said Masarira:
We affirm that land expropriation without compensation is not a crime. It is the correction of one. We salute CIC Julius Malema for holding the line in defence of Afrikan dignity and justice.
Malema damages South Africa’s image with his rabble rousing racist rhetoric.