In a strongly worded commentary published by The Guardian, former Ghanaian President John Mahama criticized Donald Trump’s claims of a “white genocide” in South Africa, calling them “a clear example of how language can be leveraged to extend the effects of previous injustices.”
Mahama warned that such statements risk erasing the memory of historical atrocities committed against Black South Africans during colonization and apartheid.
“It is not enough to be affronted by these claims or to casually dismiss them as untruths,” Mahama wrote. “This mode of violence has long been used against indigenous Africans. And it cannot simply be met with silence, not anymore.”
Mahama referenced key moments in African history, including Ghana’s independence in 1957 and the Soweto Uprising in 1976, to illustrate the lasting trauma caused by colonial and apartheid regimes.
He argued that Trump’s rhetoric was an attempt to “destroy memory and history,” quoting Archbishop Desmond Tutu: “If you want to destroy a people, you destroy their memory.”
Mahama also questioned why Afrikaners claiming persecution have not relocated to whites-only enclaves like Orania and Kleinfontein, which still exist in South Africa and maintain apartheid-era symbols.
“What, at this point, is there to be gained by viciously killing and persecuting people you’d long ago forgiven?” he asked.
The backlash has been immediate, with South Africa’s opposition leader Julius Malema and his Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party accusing the United States and Donald Trump of interfering in South Africa’s affairs and undermining the EFF, according to Inside Metros.
Malema also criticized South African President Ramaphosa’s handling of the situation, accusing him of “cowardice.”
