'You did not stand up for white farmers': Steenhuisen under fire for comments during Ramaphosa, Trump White House briefing
Image: GCIS
Agriculture Minister and Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen is facing scrutiny for comments made during the highly-anticipated meeting between President Cyril Ramaphosa and US President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday.
Many took to social media following Steenhuisen's comments, accusing him of failing to protect farmers and calling him a 'flip flop'
Facing a barrage of questions and unfounded claims about a white genocide in South Africa, "supported" by a montage of videos of Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK) Party and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema talking about land expropriation and singing "Kill the Boer", Ramaphosa turned to Steenhuisen in the hopes that he could help clarify the issue to Trump.
Steenhuisen conceded that SA had a rural safety problem that needed to be addressed; however, the majority of SA's commercial and smallholding farmers "really" did want to stay in SA.
Steenhuisen said, along with his colleagues in the Police and Justice clusters, he wants to start prioritising farm attacks and stock theft.
"It affects all farmers in SA, particularly stock theft that has a disproportionate effect on black farmers," he said.
Taking to social media following the briefing, Steenhuisen explained that the DA joined the Government of National Unity (GNU) to protect SA from violent anti-constitutionalists.
"Along with the security cluster and our US partners, my department is committed to winning the fight against farm murders," he said.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Next
Stay
Close ✕
During my engagement with President Trump in the Oval Office, I outlined that the DA joined the GNU to protect SA from violent anti-constitutionalists. Along with the security cluster and our US partners, my department is committed to winning the fight against farm murders. 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/UfrW2oHTRi — John Steenhuisen MP (@jsteenhuisen) May 21, 2025
However, there are those who believed Steenhuisen failed to protect farmers in SA.
Taking to social media, some believed Steenhuisen could have taken a leaf from business mogul Johann Rupert's book.
When given the opportunity to speak, Rupert appealed to Trump for assistance in addressing South Africa's rising crime rate, saying the issue of violent crime extends beyond white Afrikaner farmers and affects citizens across the country.
Rupert further raised the issue of violence on the Cape Flats.
Reaction
@RickBothma: "You did not stand up for white farmers."
@Freshermoon2: "Don't come back"
@NativeSettler1: "You lost alot of voters today"
@aynrandfontein: "You allowed the ANC to use you as a prop."
@danielle_v73623: "You have ruined the legacy of Zille and the DA. You will never be supported again. You're a traitor and a coward."
I wish DA can fire you. Johan exposed you and your Party — NL_Sesh🇿🇦 (@Sesh_NL) May 21, 2025
No one believes you anymore. I am very disappointed that I voted DA. I will never make that mistake again. Where is your backbone? — Michael Rossi (@Michael_silvfx) May 21, 2025
Ntate Rupert dealt with that @JohnSteffensen who had the platform to deny the genocide lies and instead tried to score cheap points for the @Our_DA . Never thought I would say this , but have so much new respect for Rupert. Not your spineless John! — Sir. TeeKay (@tokollom) May 21, 2025
seanne.rall@iol.co.za
IOL
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
7 minutes ago
- IOL News
Trust in the judiciary: South Africa's crisis of confidence
President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga to chair the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system. Ramaphosa and the ANC have demonstrated that an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution is politically meaningless, says the writer. Image: Independent Media Archives Prof. Sipho Seepe South Africans live in hope. For seven nerve-wracking days, they waited patiently for President Cyril Ramaphosa to address them on one of the most pressing crises the country has faced since 1994. A week earlier, Lt. Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi had placed the entire criminal justice system on trial. Mkhwanazi implicated the Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, top brass, correctional services, senior politicians, and members of the judiciary in an intricate web of crime syndicates and drug cartels. The allegations put the country on the knife-edge. This is the stuff that collapses governments. When Ramaphosa finally faced the nation, the address was characteristically and predictably underwhelming. All opposition parties took potshots at Ramaphosa. Those who were disappointed in Ramaphosa's utterances have themselves to blame. First, Ramaphosa is not a man of courage. He has no backbone. Placed in a prickly situation, his instinct is to choose ANC's interests over those of the country. Second, Ramaphosa and the ANC have demonstrated that an oath to uphold and protect the constitution is politically meaningless. Third, Ramaphosa does not come with clean hands. The Phala Phala farmgate scandal must have weighed heavily on his mind. The independent parliamentary panel, comprising luminaries in law, found Ramaphosa to be possibly guilty of serious misconduct of violating section 96(2)(b) by acting in a way that is inconsistent with his office. Ramaphosa was also found to have violated section 96(2)(b) by exposing himself to a situation involving a conflict between his official responsibilities and his private business. The panel concluded that. 'Viewed as a whole, the information presented to the Panel, prima facie, establishes that (1) There was a deliberate intention not to investigate the commission of the crimes committed at Phala Phala openly.' The damning findings by the former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo-led panel have not triggered the usual knee-jerk reaction that we have come to expect from the self-appointed custodians of constitutionalism. If anything, they have been conspicuously silent and absent. Confronted by the ever-lingering prospect of possible impeachment of Ramaphosa over the farmgate scandal, the ANC did what it does best. It closed ranks and squashed parliament's attempt to establish a Multi-Party Committee to investigate its leader. An annoyed Thabo Mbeki wrote. 'Are we [the ANC] saying that we suspect or know that he (Ramaphosa) has done something impeachable and therefore decided that we must protect our president at all costs by ensuring that no Multi-Party Committee is formed?...... We acted as we did [as if] there was something to hide'. There is no way that Ramaphosa was going to throw Mchunu, one of his supporters, under the bus without facing serious political repercussions. The establishment of a judicial commission of inquiry was the only safe route open to Ramaphosa. It enables Ramaphosa to postpone addressing a tricky political question of dispensing with Mchunu's services. Be that as it may, the inquiry should not prevent the police from conducting criminal investigations against those implicated in the alleged commission of crimes. Neither does the commission absolve parliament of its oversight responsibility. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ With a president burdened by allegations of possible criminality, it would be foolhardy to expect that the recommendations of the Madlanga Judicial Commission of Inquiry will be taken seriously. That the country can be held in suspense by a President who has proved to be a constitutional delinquent reflects the pervasive sense of lack of accountability, paralysis, and resignation that grips the nation. South Africans deserve Ramaphosa. No self-respecting country would allow this. South Africans have expressed a sense of inquiry-fatigue. They have witnessed far too many commissions without any of them leading to discernible positive effects. Some commissions were demonstrably weaponised to target certain individuals disliked by the establishment. Ordinarily, had it not been for the fact that Mkhwanazi implicated judges in the commission of corrupt activities, the establishment of a judicial commission would be unquestionable. Matters become complex if one considers the fact that the very judiciary had decided that South Africans cannot be entrusted with information relating to who funded President Ramaphosa's 2017 ANC presidential candidacy. Mkhwanazi's allegations lend credence to the speculations that the reason the CR17 files are sealed is that they may implicate some members of the judiciary or their family members. Ramaphosa is lucky. Each time he asks the courts to seal matters that relate to him, the courts oblige. This raises several questions. What happened to transparency being the lifeblood of democracy? If Ramaphosa is innocent as he pretends, why rush to the courts for cover? Who are the funders and beneficiaries of the CR17 funds? The tendency to obfuscate issues whenever Ramaphosa is involved played itself out at the Constitutional Court. Instead of zeroing in on the bigger picture, the country's esteemed jurists inordinately debated whether the parliamentary panel had established a prima facie or sufficient evidence. Their colleague, Justice Owen Rogers, would have none of it. He contended. 'A person loses 8.7 million Rand, they would want to know who the investigating officer is, and has it been reported to the police. Is there a case pending? It is a common cause that there wasn't… There was a deliberate decision because the president wanted to keep secret the source of the money; that's the background to where the panel was coming from.' This invariably raises the perennial question: Who judges the judges? The former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng answered that question when he contended that 'one of the things we needed to do as judges is to give reasons for our decisions that an ordinary man can understand. You must be worried when you read a judgment, and you are struggling to make sense of it.... We ought to know that partly, we account to the public through our judgments. Now, if you write in such a way that the public can't even understand what you are doing, what kind of accountability is that? We don't write for lawyers. We don't account to lawyers only; we account to every South African citizen.' The question becomes pertinent given society's growing mistrust of the judiciary. According to the 2018 Afrobarometer survey, 32% of South Africans suspect that judges are involved in corruption. In 2002, the level of mistrust was 15%. Responding to the 2021 Afrobarometer report on the society's loss of confidence in the judiciary, Chief Justice Mandisa Maya argued that 'the judiciary itself needs to do an introspection and check if we are to blame for this change of attitude towards the institution.' The chair of a commission of inquiry must be beyond reproach for the commission to enjoy legitimacy and credibility. For now, we can only speculate. And the picture is not rosy. * Professor Sipho P. Seepe is an Higher Education & Strategy Consultant. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
IOL News
7 minutes ago
- IOL News
Positive mindset is vital to get South Africa to move the dial
Business leaders are key to moving South Africa faster along its current, generally upwards trajectory, says the author. Image: Picture: Henk Kruger/ Independent Newspapers Thirty years ago, if you told someone you were optimistic about the future of South Africa, they would lecture you about being a 'realist'. Well, now that we're in the future, it's time for this unrepentant optimist to engage in a little lecturing. The reality of 2025 is that South Africa is today an upper middle income country. Our gross domestic product (GDP) has doubled in 20 years and is similar to that of Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia combined. Our national debt to GDP ratio is heading towards a manageable 75%. The richest nation on earth, conversely, is very good at dropping bombs but clearly hasn't figured out how to pay for them as it heads towards a debt to GDP ratio of 125%. While attention on mining fixates like it's still the only show in town, the last few decades have seen South Africa cement its successful transition from a primary, minerals-based economy to a services-based economy that contributes much more to GDP than mining. The City of Gold might as well now be called eRingRing for the proliferation of services-based contact centres. Inflation dropped below 3% this year. Unemployment is our bugbear but finally questions are being asked about how we measure this metric. It has never made any sense to me how a country can function with a third of workers not working. The truth is, more people are working and earning than is recorded. More South African children attend school now than at any point in our history. Our military is in bad shape because the biggest share of our budget goes to education and health. Smart nations on the rise do not direct money to the armed forces when people are hungry and need to be educated. Aggressors and victims build their militaries and we want to be neither. SA's sensible, soft power approach is cheaper and sustainable. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ South Africa has its priorities right and the reality shines through in the numbers that matter. If potholes were in this latter group, the UK, for instance, would be in deep trouble. That Daily Mail calls Britain's potholes an 'international embarrassment' with drivers there having to deal with 1.5m of them. And that's a small island - we have the world's 10th largest road network to maintain. The fundamentals of South Africa are largely sound and tell a story of a country making its way in the right direction. What we need to do, however, is move truth-telling of the kind above to the centre of our daily conversations. This will serve to motivate. Nobody feels like getting out there and fixing what's wrong when everyone is telling you it's too broken to fix. Let's take the example of Australia, one of the countries doing relatively well (I mean, if you take away the environment, drinking culture, domestic violence, biker gangs, gambling and cocaine). I don't think I have ever heard an Australian criticise the place. They always talk their country up, and the results are plain to see. Australia has, I would say, a very positive reputation that's overdone. South Africa, on the other hand, has the reverse. Yet, almost every visitor to our shores will remark how different the reality is on the ground to what's being reported overseas. This is partially our own fault. How many readers, like me, wanted to shrink into the floor when earlier this year we heard Johann Rupert randomly introducing the world to Cape Flats gangsterism in the White House, not to mention Retief Goosen going on about his parents living like virtual prisoners while Donald Trump looked on? Don't hide the truth, but my goodness, these South Africans had an audience with the President of the United States - in the full glare of the world's media - and could not think of a single positive fact about South Africa to perhaps help boost tourism, our economy and our future! Talk the truth, yes please, but don't make the situation look so beyond hope that negativity becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Business leaders are key to moving South Africa faster along its current, generally upwards trajectory. So many are mentors to their employees and I would appeal to them to make educating younger South Africans about what's good about their country a priority. Mentorship is surely as much about motivating as it is about imparting wisdom. Employees cannot be expected to achieve greatness on the decks when they believe the ship is sinking. Ivan Booth is a PR consultant, an occasional author and amateur pothole enthusiast. Image: Supplied Ivan Booth is a PR consultant, an occasional author and amateur pothole enthusiast. *** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or IOL. BUSINESS REPORT
IOL News
6 hours ago
- IOL News
There was never a SETA Selection and Evaluation Panel. Nkabane lied
Minister Nobuhle Nkabane only created the 'independent panel' in March 2025, according to the writer. Image: GCIS The weekend's portfolio committee meeting, which Minister Nobuhle Nkabane bunked out of, heard staggering new details about the cover-up of brazen ANC cadre deployment. The evil system of ANC cadre deployment is a web of corruption. There was never an 'independent panel' which made the SETA board appointments - as with all ANC cadre deployment corruption, it was done behind closed doors by the ANC and its handlers, one being Luvo Makasi. The son of the ANC Chairperson, Gwede Mantashe, a former ANC KZN Premier, former ANC KZN MECs, and ANC office bearers currently serving in internal structures, were not appointed to these lucrative Board jobs by luck or accident. Their appointments were engineered. It is now on record that four out of five named persons have so far denied being on Nkabane's 'independent panel' - only one named person remains to testify. The committee testimony by witnesses, including Advocate Terry Motau, confirmed the conclusion from at least four out of the five people who Nkabane declared to Parliament served on this panel, that the panel did not exist. Nkabane lied. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The bombshell revelation in the past 24 hours is that the names and applications for persons competing to serve on the SETA Boards were given directly to the Minister personally, in January 2025 (on her request) and not to the panel. This is contrary to Nkabane's claim to Parliament on 30 May that she didn't see the names until after "the panel" advised her. Nkabane only created the 'independent panel' in March 2025, which we deduce from the 'appointment letters' for 'panel members' that she submitted to Parliament. Nkabane had these applications for a full two months before she sent appointment letters to "the panel". Two letters have been supplied to Parliament which show her appointing two different people as 'independent panel' Chairpersons. One, Mabuza Ngubane as Chairperson on the 7th of March, and another, Adv Terry Motau as Chairperson on the 15th of March. Since then, both Motau & Ngubane have denied this, and Nkabane has admitted to Terry Motau that she indeed did not appoint him. These revelations are staggering: Nkabane & the ANC had the CVs and applications for two months before she started her 'independent panel' scheme, She attempted to appoint two different persons as 'Chairperson' - both of whom have testified to not having played any role in "the panel" and Now, at least four out of five persons on the 'independent panel' deny ever serving on the panel. With each passing day, Nkabane's ANC cadre deployment corruption scheme grows more and more brazen. The DA's demand to Luthuli House by way of a PAIA application for information on the Party's role in Nkabane's cadre deployment is yet to be answered. The DA will be holding Luthuli House to the legal timelines of this. The silence and inaction from President Ramaphosa show that an ANC party-wide cover-up may be underway, and the DA will not rest until full accountability follows. Karabo Khakhau MP - DA National Spokesperson
