Africas

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EASYJET has revealed it will be setting up an airport base next year in one of the most popular African cities with Brits – meaning more cheap flights.

The budget airline has announced it will be growing its program from Marrakech in Morocco.

While the new routes aren’t currently from the UK, other existing routes will see more flights launched.

easyJet already flies from the UK to Marrakech from eight hubs including Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester London Gatwick, Luton and Southend.

In November, some of these one-way flights are as little as £14.99.

The new easyJet routes are from Hamburg, Lille and Strasbourg to Marrakech and Geneva to Tangier – each route will have twice weekly journeys meaning there will be hundreds of additional flights.

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The new additional flights brings the number of easyJet to Morocco routes to 46.

Kenton Jarvis, CEO of easyJet, added that Morocco is a “key market” for the airline as it’s their “fastest growing market outside Europe“.

Earlier this year, Which? revealed Morocco to be one of the cheapest holiday destinations.

The consumer watchdog analysed the cost of 5,590 package holidays from some of the UK’s biggest tour operators, including Jet2holidays, TUI and easyJet Holidays.

Morocco was one of those places where holidaymakers can get more for their money.

Lisa Minot, Head of Sun Travel, filled us in on her recent trip to the Moroccan city. She said: “I’ve just returned from a wonderful long weekend in Marrakech and the city is as exciting as ever.

“We were sunbathing on the roof of our riad in the Medina in glorious 22 degree temperatures – and I loved the amazing desert landscapes just 40 minutes from the hustle and bustle of the souks.

“Tourism is booming in the city and while the streets are as colourful and chaotic as ever, the influx of visitors has brought some gorgeous new bars, restaurants and stunning hotels.”

Lisa also suggests visiting popular spots in the city of Marrakech like the Jemaa el-Fnaa square filled with cafes and colourful stalls.

It’s where visitors will see lots of performers from musicians to snakecharmers.

When you get hungry, make sure to visit one of the square’s many food stalls to pick up some maakouda – a traditional potato cake.

In the Kasbah district, you’ll find the Saadian Tombs. It’s a 14th-century site that was discovered in 1917 and the tombs are made from Italian Carrara marble.

For the best views, Lisa says head to Nobu Hotel’s rooftop where you can see the Atlas Mountains.

Of course you can tuck into some great food options too from quality sushi, and sip on a cocktail.

Another reason Morocco is set to be a big destination for next year is thanks to Ryanair.

The other budget airline announced that due to the axing of flights to Spain, the capacity removed from Spanish airports will be reallocated to more competitive European markets, including Morocco.

This means your holiday to Marrakech, or other Moroccan cities could become cheaper than a trip to Tenerife.

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Read more on another African city right by the sea that feels ‘more like Europe’ – but tourists always miss it.

Plus, for more of the best holiday destinations our travel team predicts will be HUGE in 2026 – thanks to cheap hotels, flights and pints.

History in the making as Rwanda hosts the 2025 UCI Road World Championships – the first time cycling’s crown jewel comes to Africa.
Al Jazeera’s Samantha Johnson asks if this moment can change the sport and the continent forever?

Brazil now joins Spain, Ireland, Mexico, Turkiye and others who have signed on to the case.

Brazil has formally joined the case launched by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that alleges Israel is committing “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.

The Hague court confirmed in a statement on Friday that Brazil invoked Article 63 of the ICJ statute, filing a declaration of intervention in the case.

The article gives any United Nations member state the right to intervene in a case when the interpretation of a treaty to which it is a party is in question. Brazil used the article to formally recognize that Israel is violating the Genocide Convention of 1948.

South Africa and Israel are now invited to “furnish written observations on the declaration of intervention”, the World Court said.

The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in July it intended to join the case, citing “impunity” that undermined international law as it denounced Israeli aggression in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Brazil now joins Spain, Ireland, Mexico, Turkiye and others who have intervened in favor of South Africa to join the case against Israel over the genocidal war, which has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023.

COMMUNIQUÉ : le Brésil, se référant à l’article 63 du Statut de la #CIJ, a déposé une déclaration d’intervention en l’affaire #AfriqueduSud c. #Israël.

Lien vers le communiqué : https://t.co/7UW0uUrP8o pic.twitter.com/wGoQwUNRqC

— CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) September 19, 2025

The ICJ’s final verdict could still take several years to come, but the court issued an interim order in January 2024 that obliged Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza and allow for unimpeded access to humanitarian aid.

The court also ruled that Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful, and that its policies amount to annexation .

Ignoring those rulings, as well as mounting international condemnation of its conduct, Israel has since then destroyed far more of Gaza and West Bank, and is quickly advancing with plans to sixteen much of the Palestinian territory.

The United States and the European allies of Israel continue to arm and fund Israel, even as credible international bodies are increasingly recognizing that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza .

Washington has also rejected the merits of the ICJ case, and US legislators have directed threats and criticism against South Africa. The US has also issued unprecedented sanctions of members of the International Criminal Court (ICC), who have issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa wants people to come together and talk.

He has launched a national dialogue process – billed as citizen-led – for South Africans from all walks of life to decide how to deal with challenges from crime and corruption to poverty and inequality.

But critics say his party, the African National Congress (ANC), has had 30 years in power to do just that.

So, can a conference help to solve longstanding problems in the country?

Will the talks address the divisions in the ANC?

And what’s the next chapter for South African politics?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Lindiwe Zulu – Member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress

Imraan Buccus – Senior research associate at the Auwal Socio-Economic Research Institute

William Gumede – Associate professor at the University of the Witwatersrand’s School of Governance

South African Army Chief General Rudzani Maphwanya is facing backlash in his home country following the release of alleged comments he made during an official visit to Iran, which analysts say could further complicate the already turbulent relations between South Africa and the United States.

The comments, which appeared to suggest that Iran and South Africa have common military goals, come at a time when Pretoria is attempting to mend strained relations with US President Donald Trump to stabilise trade.

Last week, a 30 percent trade tariff on South African goods entering the US kicked in, alarming business owners in the country. That’s despite President Cyril Ramaphosa’s attempts to appease Trump, including by leading a delegation to the White House in May.

Here’s what to know about what the army chief said and why there’s backlash for it:

What did the army chief say in Iran?

Meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Major-General Seyyed Abdolrahim Mousavi in Tehran on Tuesday, Maphwanya is reported to have stated that the two countries had close ties, according to Iran’s state news agency, Press TV and the Tehran Times.

“Commander Maphwanya, recalling Iran’s historical support for South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle, stated that these ties have forged a lasting bond between the two nations,” the Press TV article read.

According to Tehran Times, he went on to say: “The Republic of South Africa and the Islamic Republic of Iran have common goals. We always stand alongside the oppressed and defenceless people of the world.”

Maphwanya also reportedly condemned Israel’s “bombing of civilians standing in line for food” and its “ongoing aggression in the occupied West Bank”, Tehran Times reported.

His visit, the publication quoted Maphwanya as saying, “carries a political message”, and comes “at the best possible time to express our heartfelt sentiments to the peace-loving people of Iran”.

On the other hand, General Mousavi hailed South Africa’s genocide case against the “Zionist regime” at the International Court of Justice, and said that the effort was aligned with Iran’s policies, according to Press TV.

He also condemned the US and Israel’s military and economic actions against Iran as “violations of international laws and norms”. He added that Iran’s army is prepared to deliver “a more decisive response in the event of renewed aggression”, Press TV reported.

How has the South African government reacted?

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office on Thursday clarified that the president was not aware of General Maphwanya’s visit to Iran, although such a trip would normally be approved by the Ministry of Defence, not the president’s office.

Ramaphosa appointed Maphwanya as army chief in 2021. The general, in apartheid-era South Africa, served in the army wing of the African National Congress (ANC), which started as a liberation movement, and commanded a parliamentary majority until 2024.

Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, at a press briefing, said the general’s decision to visit Iran was itself badly timed.

“At this period of heightened geopolitical tensions and conflict in the Middle East, one can say the visit was ill-advised, and more so, the general should have been a lot more circumspect with the comments he makes.”

He added, “We are in the delicate process of resetting political relations with the US, but more importantly, balancing the trade relationship in such a manner that the trade relationship is mutually beneficial.”

Similarly, the Ministry of International Relations and the Defence Ministry dissociated the government from the army chief’s alleged comments.

“It is unfortunate that political and policy statements were reportedly made…The minister of defence and military veterans [Matsie Angelina Motshekga] will be engaging with General Maphwanya on his return,” a statement by the Defence Ministry on Wednesday read.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) party, one of the four parties that form the South African coalition government, is calling for the army chief to be tried in a military court on grounds of “gross misconduct and a flagrant breach of the SANDF [South African National Defence Force] Code of Conduct.”

“According to Iranian state media, General Maphwanya went far beyond his constitutional and professional mandate, pledging ‘common goals’ with Iran, endorsing its stance on Gaza, and calling for deeper strategic alignment,” the DA said in a statement on Thursday.

“Such political statements are explicitly prohibited for serving officers, violate the SANDF’s duty of political neutrality, and undermine the constitutional principle of civilian control over the military,” the party added.

The US and South Africa’s relations are at their lowest in decades, making this a particularly sensitive time, analysts say, as it follows June’s 12-day war between Iran and the US-Israel coalition.

President Trump slapped a 30 percent tariff on South African goods entering the US as part of his wide-ranging reciprocal tariff wars in April. The US is a major destination for South African goods such as cars, precious metals and wine.

Trump’s main gripes with Pretoria include South Africa instigating a genocide case against Israel, the US’s ally, at the International Court of Justice, amid the ongoing war in Gaza. He earlier accused South Africa of strengthening ties with Iran.

Trump has also wrongly claimed that white South Africans are being persecuted in the country under the majority Black leadership of the ANC, the country’s main political party to which President Ramaphosa belongs. He also claims South Africa is confiscating land belonging to whites.

White South Africans are a wealthy minority and largely descendants of Dutch settlers. Afrikaner governments controlled the country under the racist apartheid system until 1990.

South African wealth, particularly land, continues to be controlled disproportionately by the country’s white population. In recent times, fringe, extremist Afrikaner groups claiming that whites are being targeted by Black people have emerged, pointing to cases of white farmers being attacked by criminals on their farmland.

Elon Musk, Trump’s one-time adviser before their public fallout in June, had also made claims of white persecution and claimed that the South African government’s business laws were blocking his internet company from operating in the country.

He was referring to laws requiring that foreign businesses be partly owned by Blacks or other historically disadvantaged groups, such as people living with disabilities.

The South African government denied Musk’s accusations.

In early May, Trump’s government admitted 59 white “refugees” in a resettlement programme meant to protect them.

Previously, the US, under former President Joe Biden, was at loggerheads with South Africa over its close ties with Russia and its vocal criticism of Israel.

The latest incident echoes a 2022 scandal when a sanctioned Russian cargo ship called the Lady R docked at Simon’s Town Naval Base in the Western Cape, said analyst Chris Vandome of think tank Chatham House. The US alleged at the time that South African military supplies were loaded onto the ship and used in the Ukraine war, claims South Africa denied.

“It lies with South African foreign policy formation and the lack of clarity and consistency around it that has created this confusion whereby people think they are saying things in line with what the nation thinks,” he said.

How has South Africa tried to appease the US?

On May 21, President Ramaphosa led a delegation to the White House in a bid to “reset relations” with Trump and hopefully secure lower tariff deals.

At the heated meeting, however, Trump refused to back down from his claims of white persecution, despite Ramaphosa clarifying that South Africa was facing widespread crime in general, and that there was no evidence that whites in particular were being targeted.

South Africa, during the meeting, offered to buy US liquefied natural gas and invest $3.3bn in US industries in exchange for lower tariffs. The delegation also agreed to a review of the country’s business ownership laws.

However, Trump’s 30 percent tariffs went into effect last week. Analysts say it could put up to 30,000 South African jobs at risk, particularly in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors.

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa’s government promised to take further action to ease the burden on manufacturers and exporters. On Tuesday, Trade Minister Parks Tau told reporters that South Africa has submitted a revised proposal to Washington, without giving details.

General Maphwanya’s pronouncements this week, therefore, “couldn’t have come at a worse time” for South African diplomatic ties with the US, security analyst Jakkie Cilliers of the International Security Institute said, speaking to South African state TV, SABC.

“For the chief of the national defence force to pronounce so clearly and so unequivocally at this time is remarkably politically sensitive,” Cilliers said, adding that the general could be asked to resign upon his return.

What has General Maphwanya said?

Maphwanya, who the presidency said has returned to the country, has not put out public statements on the controversy. It is unclear how the government might sanction him. President Ramaphosa is set to meet with the army chief for briefings in the coming weeks, a presidency spokesperson said.

Banana Islands, Sierra Leone – As the sun dips below the horizon, Emmanuel Pratt tugs a worn cord and the outboard engine sputters to life. His wooden canoe, painted in white and faded blue, cuts through the darkening waters. Fruit bats screech overhead.

Pratt, 35, is a seasoned sea cucumber diver from the Banana Islands – an archipelago home to about 500 people in Sierra Leone. For 15 years, he has made a living scouring the ocean floor for these creatures that resemble warty, oversized sea slugs. They hide in the silt by day and emerge at night to inch across the ocean floor, gobbling up decomposing matter.

Also on the canoe, 25-year-old Omolade Jones – sweating in a half-zipped-up wetsuit – perches on the edge of the boat and gazes out at the dark water.

After 10 minutes, the younger diver gestures at Pratt to cut the engine and readies himself to dive. Jones blows on his mask, grabs an underwater torch and wraps a breathing hose around his waist.

The seabed surrounding the small, jungle-coated archipelago used to teem with sea cucumbers. Nowadays, they are scarce and scattered.  Freediving is no longer an option. Pratt and Jones have to dive deeper, for longer, to find their catch.

They have turned to “hookah diving” – a makeshift system where air is pumped from a diesel-powered generator on the boat down through a plastic hose. It is a risky and fragile lifeline. The engines are often old and the air is easily contaminated by diesel fumes. And experts say it is much more dangerous than scuba or free diving.

As the diesel engine that powers his air supply rattles in the boat, Jones quietly slips over the edge into the black water. The yellow hose trails behind him as he swims away from the canoe. Minutes later, his torch lights up a column of water above the seabed.

Pratt sits in the canoe, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his eyes fixed on the spot where Jones’s light is. “The cucumbers are running out,” he says glumly.

While they used to haul in dozens of buckets of sea cucumbers a night, now they struggle to find a handful. Pratt says the divers rarely make more than $40 on a dive – barely enough to cover the costs of fuel or to hire some of the diving equipment.

Not long after Jones exits the boat, he flashes his torch to signal that he is ready to swim back in. When he reaches the canoe, he hoists himself up on the side with his forearms. In one hand, he holds the torch, in the other, a small, brown sea cucumber.

Pratt takes his turn and disappears into the dark water. He surfaces a while later with a sea cucumber. But the divers are unimpressed. After a couple of hours at sea, they head back to the mooring with a meagre catch of just three specimens.

Overhead, the almost-full moon casts a white sheen over the water and dimly illuminates the way home.

Africa’s leaders have no one to blame but themselves if they cannot reach equitable trade deals with the United States, argues the former representative of the African Union to the US, Arikana Chihombori-Quao.

Chihombori-Quao tells host Steve Clemons that US President Donald Trump’s “trade, not aid” policy opens up “an opportunity that African leaders were not awarded by the colonisers, the European nations, when they set out to exploit the continent of Africa”.

She adds that African leaders should not allow themselves to be bullied by Trump, “because he has what you need, you also have what he wants”.

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The leader of the party, John Steenhuisen, said the initiative was a ‘waste of time and money’.

South Africa’s Democratic Alliance (DA) party has withdrawn from a “national dialogue” initiative after the leader of the party referred to it as nothing more than a “waste of time and money”.

John Steenhuisen said on Saturday that corruption was plaguing the government, which he blamed on President Cyril Ramaphosa, but stopped short of leaving the coalition.

“Nothing will change in South Africa for the better if we keep the same people around the cabinet table who have involved themselves in corruption,” Steenhuisen said during a news conference.

Following last year’s general election, where Ramaphosa’s African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in three decades, it was forced to team up with the DA, the second-biggest party, to form a government called the Government of National Unity (GNU).

The two parties are ideologically different, however.

The DA is market-friendly and right-leaning, while the ANC is a centre-left party, leaving the two sides to repeatedly clash over issues such as the budget and Black empowerment laws.

Last month, Ramaphosa launched a process to unite the country, referred to as a “national dialogue”, to address the most significant issues affecting South Africa, including high unemployment and crime.

‘All bets are off’

Adding to the tensions, on Thursday, Ramaphosa fired DA deputy minister Andrew Whitfield from his position due to an unauthorised overseas trip to the United States.

Steenhuisen denounced that decision and said Whitfield had sent written requests for the trip, which had been ignored by Ramaphosa.

In an ultimatum, Steenhuisen said that the ANC must fire Thembi Simelane, Nobuhle Nkabane and other ANC members who face corruption allegations in 48 hours, otherwise “all bets are off and the consequences will be theirs to bear”.

On Friday, a statement from the presidency said the decision to sack the minister was due to a “clear violation of the rules and established practices” for ministers.

“Let it be clear that the President shall not yield to threats and ultimatums, especially coming from members of the Executive that he has the prerogative to appoint in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa,” the presidency added.

Johannesburg, South Africa – On the night of June 27, 1985 in South Africa, four Black men were travelling together in a car from the southeastern city of Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, to Cradock.

They had just finished doing community organising work on the outskirts of the city when apartheid police officials stopped them at a roadblock.

The four – teachers Fort Calata, 29, and Matthew Goniwe, 38; school principal Sicelo Mhlauli, 36; and railway worker Sparrow Mkonto, 34 – were abducted and tortured.

Later, their bodies were found dumped in different parts of the city – they had been badly beaten, stabbed and burned.

The police and apartheid government initially denied any involvement in the killings. However, it was known that the men were being surveilled for their activism against the gruelling conditions facing Black South Africans at the time.

Soon after, evidence of a death warrant that had been issued for some members of the group was anonymously leaked, and later, it emerged that their killings had long been planned.

Though there were two inquests into the murders – both under the apartheid regime in 1987 and 1993 – neither resulted in any perpetrator being named or charged.

“The first inquest was conducted entirely in Afrikaans,” Lukhanyo Calata, Ford Calata’s son, told Al Jazeera earlier this month. “My mother and the other mothers were never offered any opportunity in any way whatsoever to make statements in that,” the 43-year-old lamented.

“These were courts in apartheid South Africa. It was a completely different time where it was clear that four people were murdered, but the courts said no one could be blamed for that.”

Soon after apartheid ended in 1994, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up. There, hearings confirmed the “Cradock Four” were indeed targeted for their political activism. Although a few former apartheid officers confessed to being involved, they would not disclose the details and were denied amnesty.

Now, four decades after the killings, a new inquest has begun. Although justice has never seemed closer, for families of the deceased, it has been a long wait.

“For 40 years, we’ve waited for justice,” Lukhanyo told local media this week. “We hope this process will finally expose who gave the orders, who carried them out, and why,” he said outside the court in Gqeberha, where the hearings are taking place.

As a South African journalist, it’s almost impossible to cover the inquiry without thinking about the extent of crimes committed during apartheid – crimes by a regime so committed to propping up its criminal, racist agenda that it took it to its most violent and deadly end.

There are many more stories like Calata’s, many more victims like the Cradock Four, and many more families still waiting to hear the truth of what happened to their loved ones.

Known victims

Attending the court proceedings in Gqeberha and watching the families reminded me of Nokhutula Simelane.

More than 10 years ago, I travelled to Bethal in the Mpumalanga province to speak with her family about her disappearance in 1983. Simelane joined Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), which was the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC) – the liberation movement turned majority ruling party in South Africa.

As an MK operative, she worked as a courier taking messages and parcels between South Africa and what was then Swaziland.

Simelane was lured to a meeting in Johannesburg and it was from there that she was kidnapped and held in police custody, tortured and disappeared.

Her family says they still feel the pain of not being able to bury her.

At the TRC, five white men from what was the special branch of the apartheid police, applied for amnesty related to Simelane’s abduction and presumed murder.

Former police commander Willem Coetzee, who headed the security police unit, denied ordering her killing. But that was countered by testimony from his colleague that she was brutally murdered and buried somewhere in what is now the North West province. Coetzee previously said Simelane was turned into an informant and was sent back to Swaziland.

Until now, no one has taken responsibility for her disappearance – not the apartheid security forces nor the ANC.

The case of the Cradock Four also made me think of anti-apartheid activist and South African Communist Party member, Ahmed Timol, who was tortured and killed in 1971 but whose murder was also covered up.

Apartheid police said the 29-year-old teacher fell out of a 10th-floor window at the notorious John Vorster Square police headquarters in Johannesburg, where he was being held. An inquest the following year concluded he had died by suicide, at a time when the apartheid government was known for its lies and cover-ups.

Decades later, a second inquest under the democratic government in 2018 found that Timol had been so badly tortured in custody that he would never have been able to jump out of a window.

It was only then that former security branch officer Joao Rodrigues was formally charged with Timol’s murder. The elderly Rodrigues rejected the charges and applied for a permanent stay of prosecution, saying he would not receive a fair trial because he was unable to properly recall events at the time of Timol’s death, given the number of years that have passed. Rodrigues died in 2021.

‘A crime against his humanity’

Apartheid was brutal. And for the people left behind, unresolved trauma and unanswered questions are the salt in the deep wounds that remain.

Which is why families like those of the Cradock Four are still at the courts, seeking answers.

In her testimony before the court this month, 73-year-old Nombuyiselo Mhlauli, wife of Sicelo Mhlauli, described the state of her husband’s body when she received his remains for burial. He had more than 25 stab wounds in the chest, seven in the back, a gash across his throat and a missing right hand, she said.

I spoke to Lukhanyo a day before he returned to court to continue his testimony in the hearing for his father’s killing.

He talked about how emotionally draining the process had been – yet vital. He also spoke about his work as a journalist, growing up without a father, and the impact it’s had on his life and outlook.

“There were crimes committed against our humanity. If you look at the state in which my father’s body was found, that was a clear crime against his humanity, completely,” Lukhanyo testified on the sixth day of the inquest.

But his frustration and anger do not end with the apartheid government. He holds the ANC, which has been in power since the end of apartheid, partly responsible for taking too long to adequately address these crimes.

Lukhanyo believes the ANC betrayed the Cradock Four, and this betrayal “cut the deepest”.

“Today we are sitting with a society that is completely lawless,” he said in court. “[This is] because at the start of this democracy, we did not put in the proper processes to tell the rest of society that you will be held accountable for things that you have done wrong.”

Fort Calata’s grandfather, the Reverend Canon James Arthur Calata, was the secretary-general of the ANC from 1939 to 1949. The Calata family has a long history with the liberation movement, which makes it all the more difficult for someone like Lukhanyo to understand why it’s taken the party so long to deliver justice.

Seeking accountability and peace

The office of South Africa’s Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, says the department has intensified its efforts to deliver long-awaited justice and closure for families affected by apartheid-era atrocities.

“These efforts signal a renewed commitment to restorative justice and national healing,” the department said in a statement.

The murders of the Cradock Four, Simelane and Timol are among the horrors and stories we know about.

But I often wonder about all the names, victims and testimonies that remain hidden or buried.

The murders of countless mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters by the apartheid regime matter not only to those who cared for them but for the consciousness of South African society as a whole, no matter how normalised the tally of the dead has become.

It’s not clear how long this new inquest will take. It is expected to last several weeks, with former security police, political figures and forensic experts testifying.

Initially, six police officers were implicated in the killings. They have all since died, but family members of the Cradock Four say senior officials who gave the orders should be held responsible.

The state, however, is reluctant to pay the legal costs of apartheid police officers implicated in the murders, and that may slow down the process.

Meanwhile, as the families wait for answers about what happened to their loved ones and accountability for those responsible, they are trying to make peace with the past.

“I’ve been on my own, trying to bring up children – fatherless children,” Nombuyiselo told Al Jazeera outside the court about the years since her husband Sicelo’s death. “The last 40 years have been very difficult for me – emotionally, and also spiritually.”

South Africa’s foreign policy has traditionally rested on three pillars: human rights advocacy, multilateralism, and solidarity with the Global South. Post-apartheid, Pretoria positioned itself as a mediator in global conflicts, a champion of African interests, and a voice against imperialism. However, under Ramaphosa’s administration, this identity appears blurred. The guiding principles remain on paper, but in practice, foreign policy decisions often seem reactive, inconsistent, and vulnerable to internal political pressures. This disconnect between ideals and implementation is where the cracks begin to show.

South Africa’s foreign policy under President Cyril Ramaphosa presents a contradictory and increasingly incoherent landscape. While the country once proudly stood on the global stage as a principled voice of moral authority, particularly in the post-apartheid era, recent trends reveal a foreign policy marred by inconsistency, political improvisation, and a diminishing institutional role for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). These developments expose both the fine cracks and widening chasms in South Africa’s diplomatic posture.

South Africa’s position on the Israel-Palestine conflict has been one of its most vocal and consistent foreign policy markers in recent years. Ramaphosa’s government has taken a firm stance in condemning Israeli actions in Gaza, even leading the charge at the International Court of Justice to accuse Israel of genocide. This has resonated with domestic constituencies, particularly those with historical sympathies for the Palestinian cause. However, critics argue that this moral clarity is selectively applied. South Africa’s silence or caution on atrocities in other regions, such as Xinjiang and the Tigray conflict, undermines the moral authority it seeks to project to the world.

Another troubling issue has been South Africa’s muted and inconsistent response to international propaganda regarding so-called “white genocide” or the “murder of white farmers.” This narrative, often amplified by far-right groups abroad, misrepresents rural crime in South Africa and distorts complex socio-economic realities for political gain. Yet, Ramaphosa’s administration has not proactively countered these claims with a sustained international communication strategy. The absence of a clear and robust rebuttal not only damages the country’s image but also allows disinformation to fester in influential circles abroad.

A more subtle but revealing fault line lies in how foreign policy is shaped to accommodate powerful economic actors. South Africa’s reported willingness to bend B-BBEE (Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment) rules to allow Elon Musk’s Starlink to operate raises deeper questions. On the one hand, there is an understandable desire to expand connectivity and embrace digital innovation. On the other, such decisions appear to signal that policy can be suspended or softened when big business is involved. This flexibility undermines the credibility of domestic policy frameworks and opens South Africa up to accusations of inconsistency or even opportunism.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), once a hub of strategic thinking and diplomacy, now seems increasingly peripheral. Under Ramaphosa, DIRCO has struggled to assert itself as the authoritative voice on foreign policy. The lack of clarity in positions, delays in diplomatic appointments, and an overall sense of drift reflect a department in decline. This vacuum has created space for a troubling trend: the proliferation of unofficial and undisciplined commentary on foreign policy matters by ANC leaders such as Fikile Mbalula, whose portfolio is far-fetched from foreign policy.

In recent years, it has become common for various ANC figures, some holding no official position in international affairs, to make bold and, at times, incendiary statements on global matters. Whether it’s views on BRICS, Russia’s war in Ukraine, or Israel-Palestine, these statements often contradict each other or official government policy. This free-for-all has consequences. It undermines diplomatic coherence, confuses international partners, and erodes confidence in Pretoria’s reliability as a global actor.

At best, South Africa’s current foreign policy could be described as fragmented realism wrapped in rhetorical idealism. At worst, it is ad hoc, domestically driven, and lacking a unifying vision. It is unclear whether Ramaphosa’s government is intentionally pursuing a flexible and pragmatic foreign policy or whether it is simply reacting to events without a strong guiding compass. The blurred lines between party, government, and department make it difficult to distinguish strategic priorities from political expediency.

If South Africa hopes to retain its voice on the international stage, it must begin by consolidating its foreign policy machinery. DIRCO must be empowered, not sidelined. Policy statements must be consistent, not contradictory. Foreign engagement must be principled, not selectively moralistic or economically opportunistic. The world is watching South Africa’s foreign policy circles with keen interest; it is confused by what it sees. The time to fix these cracks, both fine and foundational, is now.

South Africa cannot afford to be a bystander amid the seismic shifts shaping global politics. In an era marked by rising geopolitical tensions, great power rivalries, and contested norms, a passive or ambiguous foreign policy amounts to self-marginalization. South Africa’s historical legacy as a nation that transitioned from apartheid through global solidarity and principled diplomacy demands that it play a more assertive role in international affairs.

A firm, values-based stance in global politics not only reaffirms South Africa’s own agency but also sets a precedent for the African continent. Africa, often treated as a passive recipient of global outcomes, needs bold leadership among its middle powers. By taking principled and consistent positions on international issues from human rights to economic justice, South Africa can embolden its neighbors to speak with greater unity and confidence on the global stage.

In this context, South Africa’s role is not just national—it is continental. A coherent and courageous foreign policy can catalyze a broader African voice in global governance, helping to redefine Africa’s place not as a bargaining chip in great power politics, but as a serious actor in shaping a fairer, more multipolar world order.

Johannesburg, South Africa – When the millionaire mining magnate-turned-president of South Africa landed in Washington to meet the billionaire real estate tycoon-turned-president of the United States, it was with a deal in mind.

Tensions have been escalating between the US and its African trade ally since Donald Trump took office this year, cut off aid to South Africa, repeated false accusations that a “white genocide” is taking place there and began welcoming Afrikaners as refugees.

At the meeting between Trump and Cyril Ramaphosa in the White House on Wednesday, the South African president began by focusing heavily on trade and investments, highlighting the two countries’ years of cooperation, in keeping with statements made by South Africa’s presidency that Ramaphosa would present a trade deal to the US.

But Trump responded with a well-prepared redirect that South African media and analysts described as an “ambush” and a move that “blindsided” Ramaphosa.

Ready with printouts of news articles about alleged white victims of killings in South Africa and a video of firebrand opposition politician Julius Malema singing Kill the Boer, Trump insisted that white farmers were being targeted and murdered – an assertion Ramaphosa politely yet firmly denied, saying criminality was a problem for all South Africans regardless of race.

The team Ramaphosa assembled to join him on his working visit – which included four white South Africans: two golf legends, the wealthiest man in the country and the agriculture minister – all reaffirmed Ramaphosa’s facts that while violence was widespread, white people were not specifically being targeted.

“We have a real safety problem in South Africa, and I don’t think anyone wants to candy-coat that,” said John Steenhuisen, the agriculture minister and a member of the Democratic Alliance party, which is part of South Africa’s governing coalition.

“Certainly, the majority of South Africa’s commercial and smallholder farmers really do want to stay in South Africa and make it work,” the minister, who is himself an Afrikaner, said. Trump claimed that “thousands” of white farmers were fleeing South Africa.

Steenhuisen added that the people in the video Trump showed were leaders of opposition minority parties and his party had joined forces with Ramaphosa “precisely to keep those people out of power”.

‘The lion’s den’

The meeting began cordially where Trump complimented South African golfers, including well-known Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, who were part of the delegation. They both implored Trump for enhanced trade to uplift South Africa’s economy.

Also in the delegation was South Africa’s richest man, Johann Rupert, a luxury-goods mogul and an Afrikaner. He countered claims of racial persecution against the white minority, saying that while criminality was rife, Black people were more often the victims.

“We have too many deaths, but it’s across the board. It is not only white farmers,” Rupert said to Trump.

Ramaphosa kept his cool, local media and observers said, noting that the South African president chose to remain calm, patient and light-hearted even in light of Trump’s attack.

He steered talks back to trade, saying South Africa needed economic investment from its allies, and mostly sat expressionless while the video was played, occasionally stretching his neck to look at it.

Ramaphosa went into “the lion’s den” and was met with an ambush but he remained calm, South African political analyst Sanusha Naidu said.

“Ramaphosa and the delegation did not allow themselves to be baited into an emotional response. That’s critical. They made Trump feel like he had the upper hand in the meeting,” she told Al Jazeera, adding that given the narrative from Trump before Ramaphosa’s arrival, it “could have gone worse”.

When asked by a reporter whether he wanted the impasse between the US and South Africa resolved, Trump said he was open to it.

“I hope it has to be resolved. It should be resolved,” he said, adding that if it were not resolved, it would be “the end of the country”.

‘Reset’ relations

Before the two leaders met on Wednesday, Ramaphosa’s office said the aim was to “reset” relations, especially as the US is South Africa’s second largest trading partner after China.

“Whether we like it or not, we are joined at the hip, and we need to be talking to them,” the South African president said before his trip.

Christopher Isike, a political scientist at the University of Pretoria, told Al Jazeera that direct engagement between the leaders was important, given the tense relations between their countries.

“This is an opportunity for South Africa to correct misinformation peddled by President Trump and try to reset trade relations between the two countries,” he said.

Isike noted that both presidents’ backgrounds as businesspeople could provide common ground for discussing mutually advantageous deals.

“Rich friends of Ramaphosa are also rich friends of Trump, and that may have helped facilitate the meeting,” Isike added.

Common ground and level heads would be useful as the leaders continued private talks away from the media on Wednesday, observers said.

Before the visit, Ramaphosa maintained that while Trump was a dealmaker, he too was adept at making deals and even joked about the possibility of playing a round of golf with his US counterpart.

Washington, however, has criticised Pretoria for a host of matters since Trump took office. This continued in the meeting on Wednesday.

Trump focused on the white farmers, particularly Afrikaners – the descendants of mainly Dutch settlers who instituted apartheid. He alleged they are being killed because of their race despite evidence showing that attacks and killings are common across all groups in the country.

Trump also mentioned South Africa’s land reform law that allows land in the public interest to be taken without compensation in exceptional circumstances in an effort to redress apartheid injustices. Pretoria said no white land has been taken, but the US said the law unfairly targets minority white South Africans who are the majority landholders.

Despite Pretoria consistently seeking to rectify false assertions, the Trump administration has pushed ahead with a plan to take in Afrikaners as refugees. The first group arrived last week. He has also cut aid, including vital support for life-saving HIV programmes, to South Africa.

Additionally, there are worries that Trump may not attend the Group of 20 summit being held in South Africa in November and his government may not renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), key US trade legislation that assists economies in sub-Saharan Africa. It expires in September.

Trade and investments

Before Wednesday’s meetings, Ramaphosa said strengthening trade relations between the two countries was his primary motivation for travelling to Washington, DC.

“We want to come out of the United States with a really good trade deal, investment promotion. We invest in the United States, and they invest in us. We want to strengthen those relations. We want to consolidate relations between the two countries,” he said.

This week, South Africa’s ministers of trade and agriculture, Parks Tau and Steenhuisen, met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to present the first draft of a trade deal.

In 2024, total goods trade between the US and South Africa amounted to $20.5bn. This included $5.8bn in US exports to South Africa and $14.7bn in South African exports to the US.

However, some observers said that at the heart of the potential trade deal is what South Africa could offer billionaire and close Trump ally, Elon Musk, given his ongoing claims about obstacles he allegedly faces in operating Starlink, his satellite internet company, in the country where he was born due to its transformation laws.

These laws seek to redress past injustices that kept Black people destitute and require businesses over a certain size to have a 30 percent equity stake held by members of previously disadvantaged groups.

Speaking at the Doha Economic Forum on Tuesday, Musk reiterated his assertions about laws he claimed were biased against white people despite experts explaining that most of those only seek to promote racial justice.

“All races must be on equal footing in South Africa. That is the right thing to do. Do not replace one set of racist laws with another set of racist laws, which is utterly wrong and improper,” Musk said.

“I am in an absurd situation where I was born in South Africa but cannot get a licence to operate Starlink because I am not Black,” he claimed.

Before Wednesday’s meeting, a White House official told the Reuters news agency Trump is likely to tell Ramaphosa that all US companies in South Africa should be exempt from “racial requirements”.

Opposition figure Malema’s party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), threatened legal action after news that the government was considering offering regulatory assurances to Musk’s Starlink. The EFF said the move would be unconstitutional and shows Ramaphosa is willing to compromise the country’s sovereignty to “massage the inflated ego of Musk and Trump”.

Isike said that while trade concessions would be discussed, he doubted the South African government would give up its laws to appease Musk.

“I will be surprised if Starlink gets its way by refusing to follow South African transformation laws, which require 30 percent Black ownership of a foreign company,” he said.

‘Genocide’ claims

Meanwhile, in private talks, Ramaphosa and Trump were also expected to discuss foreign policy issues, including peace prospects between Russia and Ukraine and South Africa’s support for Palestine and its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Some political observers said Pretoria is in the US crosshairs partly because of its actions against the key Washington ally.

Patrick Bond, a sociology professor at the University of Johannesburg, predicted before the talks that the US might offer to retract claims of “white genocide” in exchange for South Africa dropping its case at the ICJ.

South Africa is seeking to hold Israel accountable for its assault on Gaza, which has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians since October 2023. The US is Israel’s strongest ally and arms supplier.

“We are very rational when it comes to discussing global and geopolitical matters. We will put South African positions first, and our foreign policy positions will be clarified,” Ramaphosa said before the meeting.

As the Gaza genocide case against Israel continues in The Hague, US allegations of a widely discredited “white genocide” in South Africa continue to follow the country’s leadership.

Before Trump and Ramaphosa retreated to private meetings on Wednesday, a reporter asked the US president if he had decided whether genocide was being committed in South Africa. “I haven’t made up my mind,” he replied.

The unfounded claim of white genocide has “taken on a life of its own”, analyst Paolo von Schirach, president of the Global Policy Institute in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera.

It will be difficult for Ramaphosa and Trump to rebound after the Oval Office “ambush”, he said.

“We know that Elon Musk certainly fanned this story [about a white genocide], and he’s probably not the only one,” von Schirach said. “It’s going to be hard for Trump to say, ‘Oh, so sorry. I was misinformed.’”

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa will begin a state visit to the United States on Monday in what his government describes as an attempt to “reset” the relationship between the two countries, which many experts say has become the frostiest in decades.

The visit comes just days after the US welcomed a group of 59 white South African “refugees” who President Donald Trump claims are being persecuted in South Africa because of their race, and are facing a “genocide”. They flew to the US on a special relocation plan and will be allowed to settle there.

Ramaphosa’s government denies those allegations and says whites, who own more than 70 percent of the land despite making up just 7 percent of the population, are not discriminated against.

In a statement, Ramaphosa’s office said the two leaders would discuss “bilateral” and “global issues of interest”. The White House has not yet made a statement regarding the meeting.

This is the first time Trump will host an African leader at the White House since he took office in January. South Africa, which currently presides over the G20, will hand over leadership to the US in November.

Here’s the timeline of the anticipated meeting, as well as a breakdown of the main issues which have caused tension and are most likely to be tabled:

When is the meeting?

Ramaphosa will travel on Monday, May 19, and will meet with Trump at the White House on Wednesday, May 21.

His office did not share an agenda for the talks, but said that “the president’s visit to the US provides a platform to reset the strategic relationship between the two countries”.

The agenda is expected to include the treatment of white South Africans, aid cuts and the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

What will Trump and Ramaphosa discuss?

The agenda is expected to include the following subjects:

Treatment of white South Africans

The issue of relations between South Africa’s historically advantaged white minority population and Ramaphosa’s Black-led government has been the most touchy one between the two governments.

White Afrikaners are descendants of mainly Dutch colonisers who, until 1990, controlled the country under an apartheid system that segregated and excluded the Black majority. Many of the most successful business leaders and farm owners in the country are still white. More than half of the Black population is categorised as poor.

Trump and his billionaire ally, South African-born Elon Musk, have severely criticised the Ramaphosa administration’s alleged poor treatment of these white people in the country, following Ramaphosa’s signing into law of an Expropriation Bill which allows the government to confiscate land, in some instances, without compensation. The law, signed in January, allows expropriation from any land owner for redistribution to marginalised groups such as women and people with disabilities.

Some Afrikaner groups say the law could allow their land to be redistributed to some of the country’s Black majority.

Trump has highlighted allegations by a group of white South Africans who fear that their land will be seized. This group also says white farmers face a disproportionate number of violent assaults, which have led to several deaths and amount to a “genocide”.

The South African government has denied that there is a genocide and says the attacks are part of a wider crime problem. Speaking at the Africa CEO forum in Abidjan in Ivory Coast on May 13, Ramaphosa said the US government “has got the wrong end of the stick”, as South Africa suffers overall from high rates of violent crime, regardless of the race of victims. Both white and Black farmers have been targeted in farm attacks, in which armed criminals have assaulted, robbed and sometimes murdered farm workers in usually remote locations.

Meanwhile, Musk, who is the founder of internet company Starlink, also blames the government for the company’s failure to launch in South Africa because of its Black empowerment laws which require that large corporations and businesses seeking government contracts be owned in part by marginalised groups such as Black people.

In a March post on his X social media platform, Musk said Starlink was not allowed to launch “because I am not black”. Officials have denied these allegations and say the country’s business laws are meant to right historical wrongs.

Tariffs and aid cuts to South Africa

Since re-entering the White House in January, Trump has implemented a triple whammy of economic policies that have hit South Africa hard.

First were the sweeping aid cuts the US announced after Trump signed an executive order pausing foreign aid to all countries for at least 90 days.

That disrupted funding for treatment and research in South Africa for deadly communicable diseases like HIV. South Africa has the largest number of people living with HIV in the world, and until then, the US provided about 18 percent of the government’s HIV budget. In 2023, the US provided $462m in HIV aid. Since January, some HIV treatment programmes have remained cut, while others have had their funding reinstated, although it’s unclear how many.

In February, Trump ordered that additional financial aid be cut specifically to South Africa over what he said was “unjust racial discrimination”, citing the alleged confiscation of white-owned land. He also cited South Africa’s filing of its genocide case against Israel over its war on Gaza at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December 2023. Details of the further aid cuts were not made public.

Finally, South Africa has also been hit by Trump’s tariff war. The country was slapped with a 30 percent tariff on all goods in April. An additional 25 percent tariff was placed on South African-made vehicles entering the US, putting vehicle surcharges at 55 percent.

Ramaphosa described Trump’s actions as “punitive” and said the tariffs would “serve as a barrier to trade and shared prosperity”.

Although Trump paused reciprocal tariffs for most countries (including South Africa) for 90 days on April 9, South Africa’s government wants tariffs to be permanently dropped. South Africa also still faces the baseline 10 percent tariff on goods that Trump has imposed on all countries.

The US is South Africa’s second-largest bilateral trading partner after China. Under the duty-free Africa Growth Opportunity Act introduced in 2000, South Africa sells precious stones, steel products and cars to the US, and buys crude oil, electrical goods and aircraft in return.

The AGOA framework, which includes 32 African countries, is up for renewal this year, but it’s unclear if Trump’s White House will follow through with it.

Israel-Gaza ICJ case and Gaza War

The South African government filed its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on December 29, 2023, accusing it of “genocidal acts” during its assaults on Gaza, to the anger of Israel’s ally and major weapons supplier, the US.

The landmark case highlighted the African country’s vocal and visible support for the Palestinian cause and was the first court case against Israel in the ongoing war in Gaza. Hearings began in January 2024. In March 2024, the ICJ issued an emergency order that Israel ensure food aid deliveries into Gaza and cease its offensive in Rafah.

Both Joe Biden’s and Trump’s administrations in the US have opposed South Africa’s move, with Trump denouncing Pretoria’s “aggressiveness”. On February 7, Donald Trump signed an executive order pausing aid to the country. The order cited the ICJ case, the Afrikaner issue and South Africa’s alleged collaboration with Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

South Africa, meanwhile, has promised not to withdraw its case despite this backlash. Foreign minister Ronald Lamola told The Financial Times in February that there was “no chance” the country would back down.

“Standing by our principles sometimes has consequences, but we remain firm that this is important for the world and the rule of law,” he said.

Ukraine-Russia War

Trump and Ramaphosa are also expected to discuss peace and mediation efforts in the Ukraine-Russia war as representatives of the two countries hold talks for the first time since the war began in February 2022.

The Trump administration has taken a lead role in mediating between Russia and Ukraine. During his election campaign, Trump promised to negotiate an end to the war “within 24 hours” if elected. Much of that effort, seen by some as aggressive, has fallen flat, however. A state visit to the US by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ended with Trump and his deputy, JD Vance, shouting at their guest in February this year.

South Africa, meanwhile, has opted to stay neutral in the conflict and has called for dialogue between the sides. The country is a historical ally of Russia because of the former Soviet Union’s support during apartheid. Both are also founding members of the growing BRICS alliance of economies, alongside India, Brazil and China, which some see as a rival to the G5 group of richest countries.

South Africa has not condemned Russia or Putin for the invasion of Ukraine, and has abstained from a United Nations resolution that did so.

At the same time, Pretoria has remained friendly with Ukraine. In April, Ramaphosa hosted Zelenskyy during a state visit during which they discussed increasing trade and the ongoing war, with the Ukrainian leader calling for more pressure on Moscow.

Hours before Zelenskyy met with Ramaphosa, the South African leader said he spoke over the phone with Trump, and they both agreed that the war needed to stop.

Pretoria says the visit is to ‘reset’ ties with Washington, after the US welcomed dozens of white Afrikaners as refugees.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will meet United States President Donald Trump at the White House next week in an attempt to “reset” ties between the two countries, Pretoria has said.

The reported visit comes after the US welcomed dozens of white Afrikaners as refugees this week, following widely discredited allegations made by Trump that “genocide” is being committed against white farmers in the majority-Black country.

“President Ramaphosa will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of interest,” South Africa’s presidency said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The president’s visit to the US provides a platform to reset the strategic relationship between the two countries,” it added, saying the trip will take place from Monday to Thursday and the two leaders will meet on Wednesday.

The White House had no immediate comment on the meeting, which would be Trump’s first with the leader of an African nation since he returned to office in January.

Relations between Pretoria and Washington have soured significantly since Trump returned to the White House.

Trump has criticised Ramaphosa’s government on multiple fronts. In February, he issued an executive order cutting all US funding to South Africa, citing disapproval of its land reform policy and its genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against US ally Israel.

‘Wrong end of the stick’

Trump’s order also offered to take in and resettle people from the minority Afrikaner community, whom he alleges are being persecuted and killed because of their race – claims that have been disproven by experts and South Africa’s government.

Afrikaners are descendants of mainly Dutch colonisers who led the apartheid regime for nearly five decades.

Pretoria maintains there is no evidence of persecution of white people in the country and Ramaphosa has said the US government “has got the wrong end of the stick”, as South Africa suffers overall with the problem of violent crime, regardless of race.

The US’s criticism also appears to focus on South Africa’s affirmative action laws that advance opportunities for the majority-Black population, who were oppressed and disenfranchised under apartheid.

A new land expropriation law gives the government power to take land in the public interest without compensation in exceptional circumstances. Although Pretoria says the law is not a confiscation tool and refers to unused land that can be redistributed for the public good, some Afrikaner groups say it could allow their land to be redistributed to some of the country’s Black majority.

According to data, white people, who make up about 7 percent of South Africa’s population, own more than 70 percent of the land and occupy most top management positions in the country.

Ramaphosa has spoken repeatedly of his desire to engage with Trump diplomatically and improve the relationship between the two countries.

The US is South Africa’s second-largest bilateral trading partner after China.