Bishops in South Africa urge racial healing as Trump condemns country’s land policy
The Justice and Peace Commission of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference has called for “racial reconciliation” in response to ongoing land reform disputes between South Africa and the United States government. / Credit Photos courtesy of SACBC ACI Africa, Feb 21, 2025 / 11:50 am (CNA).
The Justice and Peace Commission of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) has called for “racial reconciliation” in response to ongoing land reform disputes causing tension between South Africa and the United States government.
In early February, South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa reportedly signed the Expropriation Act into law, permitting the government there to seize land without compensation. This policy aims to address historical land disparities favoring the country’s white minority.
President Donald Trump criticized the move, stating: “South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly.” In response, he issued an executive order suspending all aid to South Africa, citing concerns over alleged discrimination against white Afrikaners.
In an interview with the SACBC communication office, the director of the SACBC Justice and Peace Commission, Father Stan Muyebe, OP, said the recent dispute between the two governments has reopened the wounds of land injustices during the apartheid era in the southern African nation.
He said that South Africa is still trying to recover from its “painful past of apartheid, painful history for a lot of people.”
The development in South Africa concerning land, he said, “is a very complex and very sensitive issue that calls for genuine reconciliation.”
“Racial reconciliation in South Africa cannot be comprehensive if the land matter is not handled properly,” Muyebe said in a Feb. 17 interview. He decried what he described as the “manufacturing of facts and misrepresentation” surrounding South Africa’s post-apartheid land reform, calling it a highly sensitive issue that has been “unfortunately exploited by recent developments in global geopolitics.”
“Hearing what has been presented by the United States, but also in the media, there are some aspects that are facts, but there’s also manufacturing of facts, misrepresentation,” he said.
Muyebe made reference to the country’s constitution and explained that any land restitution should not undermine food security or economic productivity.
He said further in reference to the constitution: “Although the government has introduced new legislation to accelerate land redistribution, controversy remains regarding the extent and manner of compensation.”
“We are confident that this matter will be addressed when the legislation is taken for review at the constitutional court, which will most likely happen,” the priest said.
Muyebe expressed optimism that the planned national dialogue on land reforms in South Africa would provide a collective solution to land issues and other areas of contention in the country.
According to a Reuters report, the U.S. administration’s disapproval of South Africa’s land reform policies has jeopardized the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade agreement allowing South African agricultural products tariff-free access to U.S. markets.
According to the report, the potential revocation of AGOA benefits could adversely affect South African industries, including wine and citrus producers. Some U.S. lawmakers advocate for terminating AGOA benefits due to South Africa’s land policies, arguing that the reforms discriminate against white farmers.
In the Feb. 17 interview with the SACBC communications office, Muyebe also weighed in on the suspension of U.S. foreign aid to South Africa, describing the move as a wake-up call to African leaders to address “dependency” and “find a way in which critical programs that we have in Africa should be funded internally.”
This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.
