By Chidinma Nebolisa

In 2022, Pastor Harry Johannes Knoesen was convicted by a South African court for plotting to indiscriminately kill Black people and overthrow the government to reinstate White rule. According to the prosecution, the acclaimed leader of the National Christian Movement was said to be exploring the possibility of using a biological weapon to infect and kill Black people, including the poisoning of water reservoirs supplying Black communities.

Knoesen’s plot is one amongst a series of racist conspiracies in the country, continuously debunking the underestimated threat of right-wing extremists in South Africa. From provocative rallies to racial conspiracies, the echoes of apartheid seem to linger in the rainbow nation as it strives to bury its bitter history of racial discrimination and establish a united multicultural society. Why are these extremist groups gaining traction in South Africa’s post-apartheid era?

Right-wing extremism, though lacking a precise definition, encompasses ideologies characterized by (extreme) nationalism or ultra-nationalism, racism, xenophobia, nativism, authoritarianism and/or anti-democracy. These groups, positioned on the far right political spectrum, often believe in the supremacy of a certain race, and foster an in group/ out group dynamics by blaming their societal issues on another “inferior race”. Fascist and neo-Nazi movements in Europe and white supremacy movements in North America espouse this ideology.

Apartheid rule in South Africa was a system of institutionalized racial segregation, formally enforced in 1948 by the National Party. The system promoted the separate development of races in all aspects of society, including socialization, marriage, education, and housing through racial laws. Its abolishment in 1994 and the formation of a democratic government led by the African National Congress (ANC) saw the implementation of policies aimed at reversing racial segregation and reducing racial inequality. However, these efforts have been accused by the nation’s white minority Afrikaner ethnic group of giving preference to Black South Africans, reigniting and establishing right-wing extremist movements.

Sympathizers of these movements share feelings of political exclusion, publicize narratives of being threatened by a “white genocide”. These groups include: the Afrikaner Resistance Movement or in Afrikaner- Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, commonly abbreviated as “AWB” and formerly known as Boeremag during the apartheid era; The Suidlanders; The Kommandokorps; and the National Christian Resistance Movement also known as the “Crusaders”. Collectively, they harbor elements of Afrikaner nationalism, white supremacists’ ideologies, extremes of Christianity, militarism and survivalist orientation.

Despite holding similar rhetoric, these groups have separate objectives. While the AWB suggests a separationist movement, seeking to establish an independent Afrikaner state, the Suidlanders and Kommandokorfs are more of a survivalist movement, preparing Afrikaners for a “racial war” or black uprising. Hence the latter are well known for their military style training camps, where young adults are educated on how to survive as a white person in South Africa.

To heal South Africa from its traumatic past, the ANC established the Broad Based Black Empowerment program, aimed at increasing the representation of Black individuals in executive positions, promoting employment equality and reducing the economic dominance of the white minority in the country. However, this policy has been perceived as positive discrimination ,that seeks to “erect economic and political barriers for the white minority”. Likewise, the recently adopted Land Expropriation Bill, aimed at reducing white majority land control and reversing the land dynamics where whites are farm owners and Blacks are labourers have allowed white extremists propagate fears amongst white farmers about losing their properties without compensation. High crime rate on farmlands have been given little attention, allowing Afrikaner extremists to victimize white farmers in cases were white farmers are killed and the law enforcement grant it no attention.

Although white extremists may exaggerate these issues, the ANC has failed to dispel such allegations. The ruling party has been accused of employing racial politics, by emphasizing racial differences and using racial appeals to win Black voters. Previous promises by the ANC to protect the properties, education and language of the Afrikaners have gone unfulfilled, potentially due to caution stemming from its apartheid history.  

To discourage right wing extremism, the South African government must ensure that policies and initiative does disadvantage the minority. The government should continuously reiterate that addressing past injustices through policies like the BBBEE and the Land Expropriation Bill were “on the basis that there is a need for further understanding but not for vengeance, a need for reparation but not for retaliation”. Ensuring fair and transparent policy implementation can help foster national unity and mitigate the rise of extremist ideologies.