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A Khoisan delegation seeks a meeting with Trump to correct AfriForum’s land expropriation claims and demand recognition of indigenous injustices.
Supporters of King Khoisan SA burned Impepho and gathered outside the Pretoria Magistrates court ahead of King Khoisan’s first appearance after being arrested at the Union Buildings on Wednesday, 13 January 2022, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
A group representing some members of the Khoi and San community has written to the White House administration, requesting a meeting with US President Donald Trump over land disposition in South Africa.
According to the group, the engagement will also seek to counter claims made by AfriForum and Solidarity regarding land expropriation without compensation.
Khoisan activist Christian Martin said its delegation wants to meet Trump alongside AfriForum and Solidarity, in what it said was not to seek protection but to set the record straight.
Khoisan want to meet Trump
“The Khoisan delegation wants to attend this meeting with AfriForum and Solidarity – not to complain, but to present the facts,” Martin said.
“We are not seeking sympathy. Those who now claim to be victims were once the perpetrators of dispossession.”
In the letter to the Trump administration, the Khoisan representatives highlighted concerns about the claims made by AfriForum and Solidarity.
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“The generational wealth accumulated by these groups is rooted in the injustices and dispossession of land from the Khoisan people. If the Trump administration sincerely wants to support South Africans, it must address the historical injustices that have affected indigenous communities.”
The letter also urges the US government to recognise the need for accountability, suggesting that the colonial, Portuguese, and apartheid regimes should be taken to the International Court of Justice for crimes against humanity and genocide.
“The narrative being pushed about genocide is inaccurate. There is no genocide taking place in South Africa,” Martin said.
Khoisan were nearly wiped out – that is genocide
“The Khoisan were nearly wiped out – that is genocide. Donald Trump should first address the suffering of indigenous people in his own country.”
The AfriForum and Solidarity delegation are still in the US as part of the engagements with senior government officials.
In a statement last week, the lobby group maintained the visit was to advocate for increased pressure on the ANC to change policy, rather than suspending South Africa’s participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
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