South Africa rejects planned US visa sanctions over alleged racial discrimination

South Africa has rejected a planned United States policy to restrict visas for people accused of enabling race-based discrimination against white Afrikaners. The dispute centres on claims about land seizures, alleged discrimination and accusations of incitement to violence. Pretoria said the US position was based on mischaracterisations promoted by fringe groups.

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South African Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola said the government remained committed to dealing with the issue through its constitutional institutions, democratic processes and the rule of law. His comments came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the new policy on Tuesday. Rubio said Washington would restrict visas for individuals responsible for, or complicit in, laws or policies that enable uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination and the incitement of imminent violence against minority ethnic or racial groups in South Africa.

The announcement adds a new diplomatic strain to an already sensitive debate inside South Africa over land reform and racial inequality. Afrikaners are a minority group descended largely from Dutch colonial settlers, and the country's history of apartheid continues to shape arguments over land ownership and redress. A South African government report in 2017 found that white people, who make up about 7% of the population, owned a disproportionately large share of land, including 72% of individually owned farmland.

The issue has become politically charged because South Africa has been trying to address historic land inequality through redistribution programmes and, in 2025, passed a law allowing expropriation of land in some limited cases without compensation. That law has drawn criticism from Afrikaner groups, which have argued that the government is backing discrimination and violent attacks against them. The South African government has said those claims are misinformation.

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The row also reflects wider tensions between Pretoria and Washington over South Africa's domestic policies and its international positions. The US move appears to target individuals linked to policy decisions rather than the South African state as a whole, but it still raises the prospect of further diplomatic friction. It also places renewed attention on how land reform, minority rights and historical redress are being interpreted outside South Africa.

What remains unclear is how many people would be affected by the visa restrictions and when they would take effect. It is also not clear whether the policy will be expanded or met with any formal response beyond South Africa's public rejection. For now, the dispute is likely to continue to play out through diplomatic channels and public statements on both sides.

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