Niehaus slams Afrikaner ‘refugees’ in US as racist fringe

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) member and veteran of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle, Carl Niehaus, has condemned the group of 49 South African Afrikaners who recently sought asylum in the United States, calling them “a small fringe group of right-wing, extreme white supremacist racists.”

He made the comments on Desert FM.

Niehaus says the group does not represent the broader white or Afrikaner community in South Africa and accused them of fleeing the country for racist, not humanitarian, reasons.

“This little group of people who have now trekked, so to speak, to the United States of America are really not representative of the majority of white and Afrikaner people in South Africa.”

“They are a small fringe group of right-wing, extreme white supremacist racists. And I think in South Africa, we need people who want to unite, who want to see a just South Africa,” he says.

Niehaus further criticises the group’s narrative of persecution, saying there is no basis for claims of white genocide or discrimination.

He stresses that true reconciliation in South Africa requires the white community to acknowledge the lasting impact of apartheid and contribute meaningfully to justice and restitution.

“All of the nonsense about a genocide or discrimination against them are utter lies. The whites in South Africa continue to be a highly privileged group. They still have the highest income levels, and the best chance to get employment.”

“We expect members of the South African society who come from the white community to appreciate the historical disposition that had taken place because of apartheid and the consequences of that system against the majority of black and African people,” he says.

“There must be restitution in South Africa to correct the wrongs of the past.”

He also says those who have left should not be allowed to come back to South Africa.

The former African National Congress politician says equality is often misinterpreted as oppression by some white South Africans, making it difficult for them to adapt to the values of a democratic South Africa.

“The EFF has stated very clearly: once they go, we should revoke their citizenship and they should not be allowed to return back to South Africa as African citizens, because they’ve shown themselves through their racism not to be worthy of South African citizenship.”

“Once you have that kind of mindset — a mindset born out of racism and a hankering back to the old apartheid system — you will never be able to fit into the
new South Africa,” Niehaus says.

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