SA moves to stave off US sanctions

South Africa is intensifying its diplomatic push back against the targeted visa restrictions and travel sanctions on South African officials, announced by the US last week to punish the country for some of its policies designed to address racial inequality, notes Legalbrief Africa. Minister of International Relations & Co-operation Ronald Lamola is in the US where he is expected to hold several bilateral meetings following the US decision to impose the sanctions, reports IoL. The Department of International Relations & Co-operation (Dirco) said the Minister is on a working visit ahead of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York which opened on 8 September, with the high-level general debate from 22 to 28 September. Dirco said Lamola is scheduled to have meetings on various issues including economic diplomacy, SA’s relations with the US and other international relations matters. This diplomatic push follows a unilateral US decision to impose targeted visa restrictions and travel sanctions on South African officials last Tuesday. The travel bans specifically target foreign individuals deemed responsible for, or complicit in, enacting or enforcing policies that allow for uncompensated land seizures, alleged race-based discrimination and the perceived incitement of violence against minority groups, specifically targeting policies impacting the Afrikaner minority, all of which have been repeatedly denied by the SA Government. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the US will revoke existing US visas and reject future applications for affected individuals and potentially their immediate family members. Rubio said the restrictions were necessary because the South African Government has 'consistently failed to adequately address rural crime, violent and dehumanising rhetoric, and race-based discriminatory policies'. He added that the measures reflect the administration's stance against what they call an 'obsessive pursuit of racial grievance'. The policy follows a long-standing narrative championed by US President Donald Trump regarding the alleged persecution and 'white genocide' of Afrikaners and minority groups in SA.

Even while pursuing diplomacy, the SA Government has hit back at the visa restrictions, accusing Washington of mischaracterising the country’s domestic affairs. Pretoria warned that bilateral tensions should be resolved through diplomatic engagement, according to TimesLIVE. Lamola said Pretoria has noted the restrictions ‘with concern’, and rejected what he described as the latest attempt by ‘fringe groups’ to portray themselves as representatives of minorities and Afrikaners in general. Daily Maverick understands from diplomatic sources that no list of targeted individuals will be made public, so people will only discover they have been sanctioned when they apply for visas or try to travel to the US. When Trump issued his executive order against SA in February 2025, Pretoria said ‘the foundational premise of this order lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognise SA’s profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid’. Lamola said SA’s policies were rooted in the country’s constitutional obligation to address the legacy of apartheid and centuries of racial injustice. He said legislation enacted since democracy was intended to improve the position of people who had been excluded for centuries, arguing that this was consistent with the experience of other countries that had emerged from similar histories. Lamola pointed to SA’s Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act, saying the legislation provided a legal framework to combat hate speech and prosecute hate crimes. The Minister stressed that Pretoria accepted that Washington could hold different views on SA laws and their implementation, but said disputes over those policies should be dealt with through SA’s constitutional institutions, democratic processes and the rule of law, reports TimesLIVE. He rejected the US Government’s characterisation of SA’s crime problem as being directed at particular racial groups, saying Pretoria remained challenged with crime that affected everyone. Lamola’s response came as relations between Pretoria and Washington continue to deteriorate over SA’s land reform and transformation policies, as well as because of wider foreign policy differences, including those involving Israel. The US restrictions have raised the prospect of further punitive measures against SA officials and other individuals. SA wants to pursue negotiations with the US towards a diplomatic detente, Roelf Meyer, Pretoria’s Ambassador to Washington, said. ‘We take note of what ... Rubio said, but we would like to continue engaging, and that is what we believe the task is,’ Meyer told News24. He stressed that SA’s preference would remain dialogue and de-escalation, even on difficult diplomatic terrain.

US Ambassador to SA Leo Brent Bozell III has warned Pretoria that the new visa restrictions reflect ‘America’s firm resolve in this matter’. A report in The Citizen notes that it is the latest action by the Trump administration to target the SA Government for allegations that it is mistreating white South Africans – a claim the SA Government has denied. ‘As has been made absolutely clear, the time for endless "dialogue" has run its course. No more. America has just so much patience. We want strong and lasting relations with the SA Government. It needs to show it wants the same,’ Bozell said. ‘This visa restriction policy is only the first step in a series of escalatory measures that will show America’s firm resolve in this matter,’ Bozell said. Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela rebutted Bozell’s threats. ‘Crime affects all and disproportionately affects black South Africans, particularly Africans, due to their positioning at the bottom of SA’s pyramid-structured economy and social system,’ she said. ‘You must be aware that right now, eight African women have been murdered by what appears to be a serial killer. Black deprivation is not an accident of history or misfortune but a direct outcome of state-orchestrated social engineering,’ she added. ‘Mathematically, you should know that a deficit cannot fix itself without reparatory action.’

Since Nelson Mandela took office as SA’s first black President in 1994, South African Governments have tried to redress the country’s racial inequality, including through black economic empowerment policies and buying land to redistribute, notes a report in The Guardian. These efforts have had limited impact. White South Africans typically have 20 times the wealth of black people, according to a 2023 article in the Review of Political Economy, an economic journal. Nonetheless, some white South Africans claim they are now the victims of racial discrimination, allegations that US conservatives have long promoted. Rubio’s visa restrictions announcement criticised land expropriation without compensation. SA introduced a law last year that allows the government to seize land without paying for it in specific circumstances, including if it is abandoned or only held for speculation. There is no large-scale expropriation of land. Among white South Africans who think they are discriminated against, many cite the populist opposition leader Julius Malema’s repeated use of apartheid-era chant “Kill the Boer”, Boer being another word for Afrikaner. The ANC has disavowed the chant, which South African courts have ruled is not meant literally and is therefore not hate speech.

Political parties have given a mixed reaction to the latest spat between the two nations. The Democratic Alliance (DA) said that while national sovereignty should be respected, many policies adopted by the ANC had not served the country. News24 reports that the FF Plus stated that President Cyril Ramaphosa had himself to blame, while the Mkhonto we Sizwe Party condemned Washington’s escalation of the diplomatic rift in strong terms. DA spokesperson on international relations Ryan Smith said that while countries had the right to determine their own laws, ‘there is no denying that many of the policies drafted and passed by the ANC … have not served the SA public or achieved their desired outcome’. ‘This is true, and has been true, long before the advent of the Trump administration.’ Smith added that in August, the DA challenged the Expropriation Act in the Western Cape High Court, arguing it was procedurally flawed and incompatible with the right to private property as outlined in section 25 of the Constitution.

Organisation Afrikaners vir Suid-Afrika (Afrikaners for South Africa) rejected the US action, which it said had escalated the dispute between the two countries from criticism and aid cuts to targeting individuals. It also criticised Bozell, for issuing (on X) ‘the needlessly belligerent warning that the new directive is ‘the first step in a series of escalatory measures.’ DM notes that it said this amounts to pressure to change SA's laws, court outcomes, and foreign policy. However, AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel, whose organisation has been lobbying conservative US groups, has welcomed the restrictions, saying the measures target politicians accused of human rights violations rather than ordinary citizens. ‘This action will not harm ordinary South Africans, but is directed at politicians guilty of gross violations against minorities and Afrikaners,’ Kriel said. He cited incitement to ethnic violence – including the slogan ‘Kill the Boer’ – as well as expropriation without compensation and racially discriminatory policies as reasons for the US move. The Citizen notes that Kriel argued that Pretoria must accept responsibility. ‘Proposals by AfriForum and the Solidarity Movement to resolve the dispute have fallen on deaf ears. The government must accept responsibility for the latest turn of events,’ he said. AfriForum has already launched a High Court challenge against the Expropriation Act and vowed to intensify its campaign against Economic Freedom Fighters FF leader Julius Malema’s use of ‘Kill the Boer’.

Political analyst Andre Duvenhage says the US decision to impose visa restrictions should not surprise anyone, but is a red flag for the ANC and a historic low in bilateral relations. ‘SA has not responded to issues raised by the US – from discriminatory legislation and rural safety to its international alignment with China, Iran and Russia. This is probably the lowest point in relations between the US and SA since 1994,’ Duvenhage said. The Citizen reports that he warned that the restrictions are a red flag for the ANC on multiple levels. ‘Internationally, SA is under growing pressure from countries like the US. In a world that has become far more polarised – with conflicts in the Middle East and the Russia‑Ukraine war – this process will intensify,’ he explained. International relations expert Brooks Spector has cautioned that the visa restrictions raise more confusion than clarity, warning that the measures risk undermining dialogue between the two nations.

News24 reports that local business and labour leaders warn that the new US visa restrictions could have far-reaching consequences. Black Business Council CEO Kganki Matabane believes the restrictions may not stop at politicians, and could extend to any businessperson who has publicly supported economic transformation. He expects the US to check whether visa applicants from SA have publicly advocated for economic transformation before approving or denying applications. Matabane expects US authorities to check whether a visa applicant has made public statements in support of transformation before deciding whether to approve their visa application. ‘We know that they are not necessarily predictable. So anything is possible. If (Springbok coach) Rassie Erasmus said something about transformation, do they just say "no, you’re not coming to the US"?’