The Thabo Mbeki Foundation has released a 123-page paper arguing that the claim of a genocide against Afrikaners in South Africa is a fabrication. The paper, titled "The United States of America and the Future of the Afrikaners in South Africa," contends that organizations promoting this idea in the US represent a narrow interest, not all South Africans. The foundation's patron, former President Thabo Mbeki, has taken a firm stance on the issue.
The paper begins by examining the history of US policies on racial redress, from Sherman's Special Field Order No 15 to the 2023 ruling against race-conscious admissions. It argues that redress after a system of racial domination is a long and contested process. The foundation questions why the US demands that South Africa abandon Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) 31 years after apartheid, when the US still needs targeted uplift 157 years after emancipation.
The paper documents two sets of visits by Afrikaner delegations to the US, including the Solidarity Movement, AfriForum, and Solidarity trade union delegation, which met US officials on February 25 last year. The foundation criticizes the "Washington Memorandum," which it claims promotes a modern version of separate development, or a volkstaat by another name. The paper also cites Professor Christi van der Westhuizen on the enforced conformity of "eendersdenkendheid" (like-mindedness).
The foundation builds its case on data from credible sources, including the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). According to the ISS, the 49 farm murders recorded in 2023-24 represented 0.2% of the 27,621 murders nationally, and the 296 farm attacks were 0.7% of the 42,206 robberies. The ISS concludes that the motive is almost always robbery. The paper also cites scholars who trace the concept of "white genocide" to American far-right politics.
The paper challenges the claim of Afrikaner persecution, citing data on agricultural income and living standards. Total income in commercial agriculture rose by roughly 418% between 2007 and 2023, according to the Stellenbosch-based agricultural compendium. Dr. Frans Cronje's reported remark that Afrikaner living standards after 1994 may have risen faster than in any 20-year span since 1945 is also cited.
The foundation invites the Washington delegations to publish what they actually told the American government, highlighting their silences on South Africa's structural realities, including unemployment of 32.9% and youth unemployment of 46.1%. The paper also reproduces Mbeki's 1997 explanation to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that "Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer" was an igwijo, a chant, and not a policy statement.
The paper's most ambitious section reframes the entire post-1994 story, arguing that an organized "Counter-Revolution" of apartheid-era forces and their infiltrators has aimed to capture the ANC, weaken the state, and sever South Africa's ties with the continent. The foundation challenges readers to weigh the evidence and separate what the paper demonstrates from what it asserts.
Key points
- The Thabo Mbeki Foundation disputes the notion of a genocide against Afrikaners and challenges US diplomacy efforts.
- The paper cites credible sources, including the ISS and agricultural data, to challenge claims of Afrikaner persecution.
- The foundation argues that organizations promoting Afrikaner interests in the US represent a narrow interest, not all South Africans.
