The so-called land question has been a decades-long dilemma for South Africa. A new law seeks to right some of the wrongs of apartheid but has prompted claims from critics that it discriminates against White farmers.

Though the name of Donald Trump went unmentioned, everyone knew who Ramaphosa was talking about. A few days earlier, the US president had written on his Truth Social platform that South Africa was “confiscating land and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY”.

O ne of the first things Donald Trump did on retaking office was to halt America’s programme to settle refugees. That is bad news for Africans who might want to flee war or oppression. But the White House is making an exception for a group of white Africans: the roughly 2.