Why South Africa’s Land Law Is at Heart of Trump Row

Land ownership remains an explosive issue in South Africa more than three decades after White-minority rule ended. It’s also at the center of a diplomatic row with the US, as President Donald Trump and his Pretoria-born billionaire ally Elon Musk falsely claim that the South African government is engaging in land grabs and that there’s a genocide against White Afrikaner farmers.

Trump followed through on a threat to punish South Africa for adopting a new land-expropriation law, which he sees as race-based discrimination, signing an executive order in February to halt aid to the country. His administration set up a controversial resettlement program for White Afrikaners to claim refugee status in the US — despite having suspended refugee admissions from other parts of the world, including war zones.