About That South African ‘White Genocide’

Last week, President Donald Trump visited South Africa amid tensions that extend back to the country’s genocide case against Israel before the International Court of Justice. In previous months, Trump and his former partner-in-crime, Elon Musk, had drummed up controversy through a long-discredited claim that “genocide” is being committed against white farmers in the country. Though mainstream media was quick to debunk the claim, coverage generally ignored the question of why Trump brought up the issue of South Africa in the first place. The claim of “white genocide” is old hat; why was this suddenly being brought up now? 

Answering that question requires reviewing some history. 

The United States began supporting white supremacy in South Africa shortly after the discovery of diamonds and gold in the mid-19th century. During that period, American engineers recommended the implementation of a biometric-based mass surveillance system targeting Black miners that helped form the foundation of the infamous passbook surveillance system under the apartheid regime. For the next century, the U.S. supported South African apartheid — and its lesser-known wars of aggression that killed hundreds of thousands in Southern Africa — until the very end. Corporations such as IBM, Ford and HP aided and abetted apartheid, putting profit over people. Today, a new wave of American tech giants is preying on the country, this time through the process of digital colonialism.

For the past three decades, relations between Washington and Pretoria have been amicable. However, this changed mightily in December 2023, when a South African delegation brought Israel before the International Court of Justice for violating the 1948 Genocide Convention in Gaza. While the ICJ ordered provisional measures to protect Gazans against genocide, Israel continues to disregard the court’s orders. The case could take years for a final judgment.

Since South Africa’s actions at the ICJ, Washington’s hostility has only sharpened. Within months of the 2023 case, Congress contemplated sanctions to punish South Africa for its “foreign relations” — a proposal that has yet to be implemented (despite renewed interest in April). Upon taking office, Trump signed an executive order to cut funding to the country in retaliation for its defense of Palestinians at the ICJ, as well as its 2024 Expropriation Act geared at land reform. The former signals to other countries that they will face retaliation if they try to challenge the Godfather and its allies before the international community.

The latter brings us back to the long-discredited conspiracy theory that there is a “genocide” against white farmers in South Africa. The allegation, which has been kicking around South Africa for years, was picked up by Tucker Carlson, Fox News and Trump back in 2018. In reality, farm murders constitute less than 1% of all murders in South Africa annually and includes all races (not just whites). There is no evidence that farmers are targeted on the basis of their race.

Aside from the race factor, Trump and his right-wing cronies are also painting the Expropriation Act as “communist” legislation that allows the State to “steal” land from white owners. Yet the bill is actually quite mild. Despite the fact that whites, who comprise just 7% of the population, own a disproportionate share of the land (due to colonial conquest), expropriation without compensation can occur only in exceptional circumstances (e.g. where land is not in use).

It was no mistake that Trump rekindled the bogus “white genocide” story in his widely publicized meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa: it keeps his white nationalist fan base outraged about the imagined persecution of whites and exploits anti-communist rhetoric as a tool to undermine reforms that even slightly redress the sins of colonialism. Trump’s propaganda “ambush” also helps justify other imperialist policies toward the country, such as cutting off humanitarian aid to South Africa, a move that left the HIV-stricken country with a $430 million shortfall.

Born and raised in South Africa, Musk eagerly joined the “white genocide” charade through posts on his social media platform, X. During his turn to the extreme right, he attempted to push his Starlink fleet of low-Earth orbit internet satellites into his home country, where access to fixed, high-speed internet at home is sparse in rural areas.

At the time, South African authorities were putting up regulatory hurdles. In 2021, as Starlink was rolling out to other African countries, South Africa’s telecommunications regulatory body, ICASA, demanded that the company comply with the country’s Black Economic Empowerment licensing scheme.

In the telecoms sector, “foreign investors must sell 30% of equity in their local entity to historically disadvantaged groups in order to qualify for operating licenses.” The law is a point of contention not only for Musk and the right, but for critics across the political spectrum within the country who contend that BEE has enriched Black elites connected to the ruling party, the ANC, rather than the poor black majority — earning it the wry moniker, Black Elite Enrichment.

In the aftermath of Trump’s meeting with Ramaphosa, South Africa’s communications minister, Solly Malatsi, proposed new laws exempting BEE compliance, prompting accusations of a “backroom deal” to subvert BEE to the benefit of Starlink (an accusation Ramaphosa denies).

Needless to say, Musk’s hostility to BEE has nothing to do with concern for poor Black South Africans. With about two-thirds of all active Earth satellites, Starlink dominates the global market for satellite internet connectivity. Its 7,000-plus satellites servicing over 100 countries far outnumbers its closest competitors.

In addition to the colonization of markets, Starlink is tightly integrated into the U.S. military empire. The corporation has inked a $2 million Air Force contract for use in Europe and Africa and provides “the backbone” of the Ukrainian military. “If I turned it off,” Musk remarked, “the front line of the Ukrainian armed forces would collapse.” Negotiations to service the Italian military have stalled, but more contracts are certain to come.

Starlink may also impose commercial and government surveillance on the population. Its parent company, SpaceX, is building a “Starshield” network of spy satellites under a classified contract with a U.S. intelligence agency. It is positively naive to think that South Africans using Starlink — be it citizens, government agencies, schools or businesses — will be safe from data extraction and surveillance of their movements and internet activities.

It’s also the case that South African elites have little to say about Starlink’s digital colonization of their country. From the outside looking in, it could appear that the ANC is simply resisting Trump’s imperial power play on behalf of its population. But this is not a noble David fighting an evil Goliath.

Ramaphosa — a comprador capitalist whose personal net worth of over $500 million was accumulated through “neoliberal extractivism and worker exploitation” — represents local capital, not the common people. Through skilled and poised diplomacy, he was allegedly able to secure a pledge that Trump will indeed attend the G20 Johannesburg Summit this November. With respect to Palestine, yes, the ANC is standing firm on its ICJ case, but it has also refused to heed activist calls to stop shipping coal to Israel.

With respect to Starlink, the ANC’s stated goal is to “unlock investment” and bridge the digital divide. To attract foreign capital, it appears smaller companies along the supply chain may be sourced for business as an alternative to the formal 30% Black ownership requirement under BEE. While Starlink offers a short-term solution to the broadband-deprived in the countryside, it comes at the expense of sovereignty and long-term independence. 

Last week, the minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, announced a plan for a partnership with the U.S. worth $9 billion to $12 billion in trade over the next decade. Tariffs in the automotive, steel and aluminum sectors would be relaxed, and South Africa would “collaborate on investment in important minerals”; import natural gas from the U.S.; and “accept U.S. investment in gas infrastructure” — including technologies like fracking — to “unlock gas production in the country.” 

Don’t be surprised if Starlink is contracted to assist the exploration and production.