South Africa’s new US ambassador rejects ‘white genocide’ claims in BBC interview

South Africa’s new ambassador to the United States, Roelf Meyer, has rejected claims that white Afrikaners are facing genocide or systematic mass attacks in the country, saying the situation has been misrepresented.

Meyer, himself an Afrikaner and a former senior negotiator in the talks that ended apartheid, made the comments in an interview with the BBC as he begins his diplomatic assignment in Washington amid strained relations between South Africa and the administration of US President Donald Trump.

“I’m an Afrikaner from South Africa myself, and I can say that I’ve never experienced something of that kind,” Meyer told the BBC, arguing that his background gives him particular grounds to challenge the claims.

Meyer said he was surprised when he first heard Trump describe conditions facing white South Africans in terms of genocide. He told the BBC that the notion of a mass attack targeting Afrikaners had been misrepresented and that the allegations did not reflect the reality he had experienced in South Africa.

The issue has become a major source of tension between Pretoria and Washington. Trump has repeatedly alleged that white South Africans, particularly Afrikaner farmers, face persecution and violence. His administration subsequently established a special refugee pathway for Afrikaners seeking to relocate to the United States.

South African authorities have consistently rejected the genocide allegation. International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola said this week that there was no evidence supporting claims of genocide against Afrikaners, describing the “white genocide” narrative as false.

The debate has nevertheless continued in the United States, with some Afrikaner groups maintaining that white farmers face serious security threats. An Afrikaner lobby group is holding a vigil in Washington featuring thousands of white crosses to commemorate people it says have been killed in farm attacks.

South African officials acknowledge that the country has a severe crime problem but argue that violence affects communities across racial lines. Meyer has similarly called for the United States to focus on helping South Africa tackle its broader crime crisis rather than concentrating on alleged attacks against one racial group.

Meyer has also criticised claims that South African policies designed to address inequalities created under apartheid amount to persecution of white citizens. His comments come as Pretoria seeks to repair diplomatic relations with Washington.

The ambassador was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in April after South Africa’s previous ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, was expelled from the United States in 2025. Meyer formally presented his credentials at the White House in May.

Meyer was a leading negotiator for the white-minority National Party during the transition from apartheid and worked opposite Cyril Ramaphosa, who represented the African National Congress. He later served in Nelson Mandela’s cabinet and has been involved in international peace and mediation efforts.

The ambassador’s comments come as the two countries continue to address disagreements over South Africa’s domestic policies, trade, foreign policy and the treatment of Afrikaners. Washington recently announced visa restrictions targeting South Africans it accused of involvement in policies discriminating against white Afrikaners, a move Pretoria described as based on mischaracterisations.