A contentious new land reform law in South Africa, known as the Expropriation Act, has ignited legal and diplomatic battles, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) challenging its constitutionality and U.S. President Donald Trump imposing sanctions in response. The law, which allows the government to seize private land without compensation in specific cases, has intensified political divisions within South Africa and strained international relations.
The DA, the second-largest party in South Africa’s coalition government, has filed a legal challenge against the Expropriation Act, arguing that no democratic state should have unchecked powers to confiscate property. The party contends that such a law mirrors past injustices perpetrated by the apartheid regime, which forcefully removed native communities from their land. The DA insists that property rights must be safeguarded for all citizens, warning against the misuse of expropriation powers.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who signed the law against the DA’s advice, has defended the act as a necessary step toward rectifying historical land ownership disparities. Thirty years after the end of apartheid, white South Africans still own the vast majority of private farmland, a lingering effect of racial segregation. The African National Congress (ANC), which leads a 10-party coalition government, asserts that the act will only be applied in exceptional cases, such as when land is required for public use and all other legal means of acquisition have been exhausted.
However, the law has triggered a sharp reaction from President Trump, who accused South Africa of violating property rights and announced a freeze on U.S. foreign aid. In an executive order issued over the weekend, Trump stated that the U.S. “cannot support the government of South Africa’s commission of rights violations in its country.” He further instructed U.S. officials to develop a plan for resettling South African farmers and their families as refugees, prioritizing their admission under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. The move has been widely interpreted as support for the country’s white Afrikaner farming community, which descends from early Dutch and French settlers.
The ANC has dismissed Trump’s allegations as misinformation and propaganda, asserting that no land has been seized under the new law. In response to mounting international scrutiny, President Ramaphosa announced that he would send envoys to various countries to clarify the government’s position and counter what he described as deliberate misrepresentation.
As the legal challenge unfolds and diplomatic tensions rise, South Africa finds itself at a critical juncture, balancing domestic land reform efforts with international pressure and economic implications.
