‘Death…death…death’: Did Donald Trump's 'genocide' claims to Cyril Ramaphosa mirror South Africa's reality?

In a dramatic and unexpected encounter on May 21, US President Donald Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office with a forceful, reality-TV style ambush. After cordial greetings, Trump abruptly ordered the lights to be dimmed and played a video purporting to show evidence of a violent campaign against white South African farmers.

Trump then pulled out a stack of printed news articles, repeatedly murmuring “death… death… death” as he handed them to Ramaphosa.

‘Kill the Boer’: Trump plays controversial video

The video spliced together incendiary clips of opposition figure Julius Malema singing the controversial “Kill the Boer” song and calling for land occupation, implying a racial genocide against white Afrikaners.

Notably, Malema, the provocative leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), secured only 9.5 per cent of the vote in South Africa’s 2024 election.

Former president Jacob Zuma, who now heads his own opposition party, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), also appeared in the video, singing in Zulu: “We are going to shoot them. They are going to run.”

Ramaphosa, taken aback, said he had never seen the video before, which was originally circulated by South African-born billionaire and Donald Trump adviser Elon Musk.

Ramaphosa arrived at the Oval Office prepared, accompanied by two champion white South African golfers, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, and South Africa’s richest man, Johann Rupert.

The delegation’s presence was a clear signal that Ramaphosa intended to defend his country’s reputation robustly.

The land expropriation law: Central to the dispute

At the heart of the confrontation is South Africa’s contentious land expropriation legislation, enacted in January 2025. The law allows the South African government to seize private land for public purposes, including land reform, with “just and equitable” compensation.

In some cases, the law permits “nil compensation,” particularly if the land is abandoned or held purely for speculation. This law replaces a 1975 statute and aims to address the deep inequalities left by apartheid. According to an audit conducted in 2017 by the South African government, white South Africans—about 7 per cent of the population—still own over 70 per cent of the land.

Trump sharply criticised the law, accusing South Africa of “unjust racial discrimination” against white farmers and halting US aid in February 2025.

Trump also signed an executive order facilitating the relocation of white South Africans to the US as refugees, with the first group arriving earlier this month.

Ramaphosa and the African National Congress (ANC) reject claims that the law is arbitrary or discriminatory, insisting it is a measured policy designed to redress historical injustices while maintaining fairness.

Farm murders and crime in South Africa: What data says

Donald Trump’s claims of a “genocide” against white farmers have been widely rejected.

South Africa recorded 26,232 murders in 2024, averaging 72 murders per day, making it one of the most violent countries globally, according to South African Police Service (SAPS) official crime statistics for the 2024/2025 period.

(*Estimated based on trends and partial data from official sources)

However, farm murders in South Africa constitute a small fraction of this total. In the last quarter of 2024, police recorded 12 murders on farms, including those owned by Black smallholders, out of nearly 7,000 murders nationwide, the police data shows.

Experts emphasise that the primary motive for farm attacks is robbery rather than racial targeting. Many attackers were quoted as saying in interviews that victims of all races were targeted for cash and valuables.

The race of farm murder victims is not consistently recorded, but anecdotal evidence suggests both white and black farmers have been victims.

The controversial video shown by Donald Trump included a drone shot of white crosses on a hillside, claimed to be a memorial for murdered white farmers.

However, it is unclear where this footage was taken, and the Whitkruis Monument, which commemorates dead South African farmers, is located on private land.

Crime and social context in South Africa

South Africa’s crime situation remains dire despite recent improvements. The South African Police Service reported a 1.6 per cent reduction in violent crimes in the final quarter of 2024, including a near 10 per cent drop in murders compared to the previous year, as per analysis done by BusinessTech, a South African news outlet.

Violent crime rates continue to be alarmingly high, with the bulk of offences concentrated in provinces such as Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and Western Cape, as per South African Police data.

Murder rate per 100,000 population by province

Here is a textual representation of a graph showing the key crime statistics in South Africa in the third quarter of 2024 (October to December). This graph focuses on murder rates per 100,000 population by province.

Eastern Cape | ██████████████████ 19.6

Western Cape | ████████████████ 16.0

KwaZulu-Natal | ████████████ 12.6

Gauteng | ██████████ 10.3

Free State | ████████ 8.9

Northern Cape | ███████ 8.1

Mpumalanga | █████ 7.1

North West | █████ 6.9

Limpopo | ██ 3.4

(Note: Each '█' roughly equals 1.0 per 100,000 population)

The majority of murder victims nationwide are poor, under- or unemployed young black males, reflecting a crime pattern more closely associated with socio-economic factors than race, reports the Guardian.

South Africa’s complex history of apartheid and economic inequality continues to fuel tensions, but the government insists on policies promoting equitable land distribution and crime reduction.

Between political theatre and reality

International observers point out that the Oval Office meeting exposed starkly different narratives. Trump’s presentation of selective evidence, including a misattributed video from Congo, aimed to portray South Africa as a country where white farmers are persecuted, while Ramaphosa countered with facts and context in the presence of prominent South Africans

The land expropriation law remains a sensitive issue in South Africa. But it remains to be seen whether Trump’s claims will influence US-South Africa relations or his attendance at the G20 summit in Johannesburg later this year.