By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola has warned that US policies against South Africa could undermine peaceful coexistence between white and black population.
Lamola was participating in a panel discussion at the African Diaspora Forum hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation on Friday, 18 September 2026.
The engagement forms part of a working visit in Washington, DC, ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
The minister is scheduled to meet various stakeholders on issues including the economic diplomacy, South Africa’s relations with the USA, and other international relations matters.
In introducing Lamola at the Forum, US Congressman Jonathan Jackson criticised his own government for its treatment of South Africa.
“This administration will continue its attacks on the freedom of South Africa. Can you imagine the last free nation in Africa from colonialism? When the United States, in my childhood, was supporting the white minority over the black majority purely because of race. Now that they have found their freedom, they are imposing visa restrictions on them. It’s enough to be insulting,” Jackson said.
“South Africa is an independent and sovereign nation that has maintained its level of dignity, There is no genocide in South Africa. As I introduce the Honourable Ronald Lamola, let me apologise as a member of the United States House of Representatives on behalf of my government that is lying on the free people of South Africa.”
South Africans travelling to the United States could face further visa restrictions under a new policy announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Announced on 15 September 2026, the policy targets those whom the US says are responsible for, or complicit in, laws or policies enabling uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination, or the incitement of imminent violence against minority ethnic or racial groups in South Africa.
This comes amid ongoing tensions between Washington and Pretoria over South Africa’s domestic policies, including legislation addressing racial inequality and land reform.
Lamola rejected suggestions that South African government was targeting any racial group, saying crime remained a national challenge affecting all South Africans.
He said that South Africa possesses the highest number of white people outside the Northern Hemisphere, coexisting alongside black citizens.
“The South African government operates under a constitutional democracy that allows individuals across all backgrounds to live together free from restrictions,” he said.
“Attempting to stifle the spirit of black advancement begins by targeting South Africa to signal to Black Americans that equality and coexistence cannot succeed anywhere.”
Lamola said that, given historic racial and ethnic fault lines, South Africans have been subjected to unfounded claims of a ‘genocide’ against white people.
These claims, he said, have been used to justify an ‘Afrikaner resettlement program’ in the United States that admits only white South Africans as refugees.
“This race-based policy reflects what can be termed ‘Apartheid 2.0’,” Ramola said.
South Africa is the United States’ largest trading partner on the African continent with more than 500 US businesses and 30 000 US citizens based in the country.