Nairobi, Kenya- In the wake of a tense Oval Office meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have come out swinging, accusing both leaders of vilifying their party and misrepresenting its agenda on land reform.
EFF leader Julius Malema was thrust into the international spotlight after Trump played video clips of him chanting the controversial liberation song “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer”, during the high-profile White House engagement.
The meeting, which was initially billed as a diplomatic and trade discussion, quickly spiraled into a pointed critique of South Africa’s land policies and the EFF’s radical stance on redistribution.
EFF: “Meeting Was a White Privilege Summit”
In a fiery statement released Wednesday, the EFF condemned the meeting as a gathering of “white privileged men,” including billionaire Johann Rupert, golfer Ernie Els, and Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen, who, according to the party, have historically “amassed wealth at the expense of African people.”
The party accused Ramaphosa of “cowardice” for distancing himself from the liberation chant and for, in their view, undermining South Africa’s own judiciary.
The chant in question, which has long sparked controversy, was previously upheld by the Equality Court as part of South Africa’s anti-apartheid heritage.
The ruling was later supported by both the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court, with all courts finding the song could not be interpreted as incitement to violence.
EFF: Ramaphosa Betrayed Land Reform
The party’s statement paints Ramaphosa as eager to appease Trump, allegedly prioritizing foreign relations over the transformative land reform agenda laid out in South Africa’s Expropriation Bill, which allows for land seizure without compensation under certain conditions.
Malema’s party accused the president of abandoning the fight for land justice and of colluding with conservative forces to suppress the EFF’s growing influence.
EFF leaders claim Steenhuisen admitted to a political pact with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to exclude the EFF from power — a move the EFF calls an attack on true democratic transformation.
Starlink, Sovereignty, and Elon Musk
In a striking twist, the EFF says the Oval Office session also featured lobbying efforts to get Elon Musk’s Starlink service into South Africa — a move they oppose. The party criticized any effort to bypass local Black economic empowerment laws, which require 30pc local ownership for telecoms operations.
“South Africa has been embarrassed by a delegation that contradicted itself, abandoned judicial decisions, and at times was simply groveling,” the statement read.
The EFF vowed to resist any attempt to rewrite affirmative action regulations or obstruct the implementation of the Expropriation Act.
They also doubled down on their defiance of Trump’s rhetoric, framing Malema as a revolutionary voice standing against what they termed “the corridors of imperialism.”
