SINCE Donald Trump assumed office on January 20, the United States has taken an increasingly hostile stance towards South Africa, marking a significant policy shift from once idolising Nelson Mandela to now labelling the country as repressive towards the Afrikaner community.
The first move came through an executive order issued by Trump imposing sanctions on South Africa, citing “a shocking disregard for its citizens’ rights” about the Expropriation Act 13 of 2024, which allows land seizure without compensation.
The US framed the sanctions as a violation of ethnic minority Afrikaners’ property rights, stating that it “undermines US foreign policy and threatens national security interests”.
This behaviour by the US ignores the fact that South Africa’s liberation struggle was always about land, this law simply addresses a long-overdue issue. There is no crime here — only racism.
Despite the racial overtones in the executive order, the South African government initially pursued a diplomatic approach, assuming Trump had been misinformed. However, the US escalated its stance by cutting aid, citing opposition to the land expropriation law and South Africa’s ties to Hamas and Iran.
In response to the aid cut which significantly affected the health sector, South Africa proposed to increase spending on health and defence, funded by a VAT hike. However, this move triggered tensions within the governing coalition, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) opposing the tax increase.
Rather than a policy argument, the DA’s resistance appears to be a political manoeuvre to weaken the ANC. The DA is ostensibly playing to the voters’ gallery while covertly acting on instructions from its sponsors. Resisting the tax hike gives the appearance of siding with the people, but the real intention is to weaken the ANC.
The consequences are dire — if the DA’s argument prevails, people may lose access to HIV/Aids treatment, leading to preventable deaths, while ANC will lose political face and ground regardless of the outcome. None of these losses concern the DA and its sponsors. To it, it’s a political game.
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Amid these challenges, on March 14, 2025, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared South Africa’s ambassador Ebrahim Rasool persona non grata, effectively expelling him. His “offence” is publicly stating that Trump’s policies promote global white supremacy — an assertion that recent US actions seem to support.
The US sanctions, aid suspension and diplomatic expulsions suggest a wider geopolitical strategy, and Sadc must take this seriously. The West has long viewed South Africa as a contested space and the land expropriation law threatens entrenched power structures and their future interests.
The Trump administration’s hostility towards South Africa is not just about land — it is about the future control of the country. The US seeks to reshape South Africa’s political and economic trajectory, using sanctions, aid cuts and diplomatic pressure to weaken its sovereignty.
However, this hostility towards South Africa also presents a critical moment for Sadc and Africa to unite, re-strategise, and forge new alliances. The era of US economic and political dominance is fading, and Africa must seize this opportunity to secure its future.
Historically, the global white supremacist agenda has never truly accepted South Africa as a Black-majority-led nation. Many in the West have regarded the current Black government as a temporary placeholder, with ambitions to reshape South Africa into a Western stronghold — “an Israel in Africa”.
The Afrikaner grievances have been used as a pawn in this larger strategy. In reality, Afrikaners are not central to the white supremacist agenda, but South Africa as a strategic foothold is. The Anglo-Boer Wars of 1880–1881 and 1899–1902 serve as a stark reminder of this long-standing agenda.
Recently, the West has gradually sought influence in South Africa through democratic means, but with Trump in office and Elon Musk as a key adviser, their agenda now has high-level attention. This may have caught the ANC off guard, but it is not too late for South Africa and Sadc to regroup.
Instead of merely reacting to US actions, Sadc must proactively strengthen its regional bloc to cushion South Africa and its member States from these external political pressures. The region should transition towards a more unified political structure, similar to the European Union model. A Sadc Parliament could represent citizens and governments, ensuring a unified regional response to external threats. If one Sadc member is attacked, the entire bloc should respond.
The US has proven to be an unreliable trade partner, making economic diversification an urgent necessity. Minimising exposure to the US is now critical, as other nations are already reconfiguring their trade and security policies to reduce vulnerability to US disruptions.
Sadc must pursue stronger ties with the Brics and other emerging powers, minimising dependence on the highly volatile US economy. The US is becoming increasingly isolated, with its lack of policy clarity on the Russia-Ukraine war. This distraction creates an opportunity for Africa to redefine its geopolitical positioning without US interference.
The Brics has already laid the foundation for nations seeking alternatives to Western influence. With US sanctions disrupting global trade, the Brics offers a viable path for economic stability.
