WATCH | ‘Gossiping about their own country’ – Mufamadi rips into AfriForum’s US trip

Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa’s national security advisor, Dr Sydney Mufamadi, has strongly criticised AfriForum and Solidarity for their recent visit to the United States, accusing them of undermining South Africa’s democracy by seeking foreign intervention.

Mufamadi said the organisations had not gone to Washington for legitimate engagements but to “gossip about their own country in a manner that makes the majority of our people feel betrayed”.

He warned that such actions were divisive and threatened to reignite past hostilities.

“It depends on what they are going to do in Washington. What, clearly, they are not going to do in Washington is shopping.

“They are going to Washinton to gossip about their own country in a manner that makes the majority of our people feel betrayed.

“That is clearly divisive and, with our history, it threatens to resuscitate the hostilities of the past.

“If this is not stopped you can imagine what then happens to the nation-building and democracy building project. That project gets derailed,” Mufamadi said.

His remarks come as the Hawks investigates high treason cases linked to claims of a white genocide against farmers.

While Hawks chief General Godfrey Lebeya did not name the organisations involved, reports suggest AfriForum and Solidarity are among those under scrutiny.

“Indeed we are apolitical but when it comes to the complainant, we also don’t discriminate whether a complainant belongs to a political party or not. So there are four dockets that have been opened by different people, maybe from different parties that concern some individuals that may have crossed the border to go and communicate some of the things that are perceived to be in the direction of high treason.

“I don’t want to mention names of organisations… but there are some organisations that are suspected to be involved,” Hawks Head General Godfrey Lebeya said.

AfriForum’s Kallie Kriel and Solidarity’s Flip Buys were in the US recently and met with members of Trump’s administration to advocate for the interests of Afrikaners in South Africa.

The group presented a memorandum to showcase alleged human rights violations against Afrikaners, as well as the African National Congress’s (ANC) poor governance.

They urged the US to recognise Afrikaners as a cultural community, increase support for cultural infrastructure, and pressure ANC leaders to change their policies instead of imposing sanctions.

“Pressure be put on South Africa to declare farm murders a priority crime and to take decisive action against those calling for violence against Afrikaners.

“Pressure be also be put on the South African Government to revise the Bela Act, the Expropriation Act and legistlation that discriminates on the basis of race,” read part of the memo.