Cape Town — AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel has responded to President Cyril Ramaphosa and said that his claims against AfriForum and Solidarity are invalid.
Speaking during the National Assembly on Tuesday, Ramaphosa said that AfriForum and Soldarity’s actions of going to the US and spreading misinformation were unpatriotic.
“I regard that as being non-patriotic because when you are a patriot of a country, the best you do is resolve problems or issues you have in country rather than beginning to damage the sovereignty of your country by running to other countries and expecting them to take action against your own country,” Ramaphosa said.
The President said their actions have led to the US taking action against South Africa and he said law enforcement agencies would look at their actions.
He was disappointed that they were badmouthing South Africa and putting the country into disrepute, and he reiterated his stance that AfriForum was dividing the country.
“I am hugely disappointed and take a dim view of what AfriForum and Solidarity have done,” he added.
[WATCH] President Cyril Ramaphosa: “When you’re a patriot of a country, the best you do is to resolve the problems or issues you have in your country, rather than begin to damage the sovereignty of your country by running off to other countries and expecting them to take action… pic.twitter.com/ySKPKioOe7
— SABC News (@SABCNews) March 11, 2025
In response to the claims by Ramaphosa, AfriForum’s Kriel took to X and said the claims made by Ramaphosa were invalud as he was also responsible for the breahc of trust.
“President Ramaphosa’s accusations against AfriForum and Solidarity in parliament are invalid, as he himself is responsible for the breach of trust that has occurred,” he said.
“It was President Ramaphosa who signed the BELA Act – which targets Afrikaans schools and consequently threatens the survival of Afrikaans cultural communities. Did he think we would meekly accept this act of aggression against us?” he added.
He said ANC leaders have acted “unpatriotically and disloyally” toward the people of South Africa and placed the country in the line of fire by signing the Expropriation Act.
“Furthermore, Ramaphosa is dishonest when he claims that local solutions could have been found for these disputes, as he blatantly ignored AfriForum’s letter to him in April 2024 regarding the dangers of the expropriation law,” Kriel added.
He said Ramaphosa had disregarded AfriForum over the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act and pretended that he had not given a mandate for negotiations.
President Ramaphosa’s accusations against @afriforum and @Solidariteit in parliament are invalid, as he himself is responsible for the breach of trust that has occurred.
It was @PresidencyZA Ramaphosa who signed the BELA Act, which targets Afrikaans schools and consequently… https://t.co/eHwiuX084n
— Kallie Kriel (@kalliekriel) March 11, 2025
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Picture: X/@afriforum
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
