The African National Congress (ANC) on Tuesday rebuffed the US’s decision to grant refugee status to individuals that the party says “self-identify” as Afrikaners, describing them as “instigators of a falsehood” and in search of impunity from transformation, not safety.

“…they flee not from persecution, but from justice, equality and accountability for historic privilege,” said ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri.

The Trump administration on Monday welcomed 59 white South Africans, after US President Donald Trump granted them refugee status in the US.

Bhengu-Motsiri clarified that there were no Afrikaner refugees in South Africa.

“No section of our society is hounded, persecuted or subject to ethnic victimisation. These claims are a fabrication, and a cowardly political construct designed to delegitimise our democracy and insult the sacrifices made by generations who fought for freedom,” she stated.

She pointed to the Freedom Charter, highlighting that in commemoration of the seventieth anniversary, citizens must recall the “enduring truth” that South Africa belonged to all who live in it, black and white.

“…this is further enshrined in our Constitution, which affirms equality, dignity and non-racialism as the bedrock of our national life,” she explained.

She noted that the misuse of refugee protections to shield right-wing, anti-transformation elements was a violation of the spirit and letter of international law.

She highlighted that millions around the world faced real persecution and they were the ones deserving of sanctuary, not those “offended” by a democratic society that was working to redress past injustice.

The ANC called on all South Africans to unite in defence of the truth, constitutionalism and national sovereignty.

“Ours is not a broken or failing State, it is a people’s democracy advancing against the tides of distortion and destructive, divisive narratives,” said Bhengu-Motsiri.