State Department Says South African Politicians Endanger Afrikaners After Two Farm Attacks
A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that South African politicians have endangered Afrikaner lives and property, after a farmer was reported tortured near Johannesburg and a woman farmer was beaten to death earlier in October.
The U.S. State Department has accused South African politicians of endangering the lives and property of Afrikaners, after two attacks on white farmers in North West province, about 80 miles from Johannesburg, according to Fox News Digital.
A department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that “the lives and property of Afrikaners have been endangered by politicians who incite race-based violence against them.”
Ian Cameron, chair of South Africa’s Portfolio Committee on Police and a member of Parliament with the opposition Democratic Alliance, told Fox News Digital that Donovan Marx, 50, was attacked on his farm between Potchefstroom and Ventersdorp. Cameron said there were reports Marx was shot, stabbed and had his ears cut off, and he called the attack “extraordinary cruelty.”
In a separate attack in the same province earlier in October, Hannetjie van Zyl, 55, was beaten to death while opening a gate, according to Fox News Digital. Eyewitness reports said she was approached from behind and struck repeatedly over the head with an iron bar. In both attacks, the victims’ vehicles and belongings were reportedly stolen.
Fox News Digital noted that while both victims were white, there have been no accusations from public figures that the attacks were racially motivated. Fox News Digital said it reached out to the South African government for comment and was referred to police, who did not immediately respond.
What Washington is asking Pretoria to do
The State Department spokesperson said President Donald Trump has demanded that South Africa formally designate rural crime as a priority crime and expand alternatives to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment ownership requirements, such as equity-equivalent investment programs.
The spokesperson also said South African politicians “threaten to confiscate their farms without compensation and support a corrupt, race-based scoring system that discriminates against Afrikaners and other minorities in employment.”
The dispute includes the song “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer.” Corné Mulder, leader of the opposition party Freedom Front Plus, told Fox News Digital the attacks were fueled by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s refusal to stop performances of the song. Ramaphosa has said he could not stop the song being chanted in stadiums by crowds of up to 90,000 because the country’s highest court has said the lyrics are not hate speech.
Resettlement figures
Nearly 13,000 South African refugees, most of them Afrikaners, have been flown to the United States during fiscal year 2026, according to Fox News Digital. That number is expected to increase by another 17,500 in fiscal year 2027. The spokesperson said, “As directed by President Trump, we are prioritizing the resettlement of Afrikaners in South Africa escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination.”
Reporting based on coverage by Fox News Digital.
