ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula has drawn comparisons between recent U.S. pressures on South Africa and past American efforts to undermine the ANC's fight for freedom. In a radio interview on 6 November 2025, Mbalula recounted his visit to the White House earlier that year, where U.S. officials urged him to abandon policies like Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), framing them as racial biases. Mbalula warned that such demands echoed the 1980s, when the ANC was labeled a terrorist group by the Reagan administration. He said these pressures are part of broader tensions between the U.S. and South Africa, particularly as Trump’s second term intensifies, with potential sanctions and trade wars looming.
Mbalula’s interview also covered growing challenges in U.S.-South African relations, including the U.S. House’s proposed bill that could impose sanctions on ANC leaders over ties with Russia or China. These developments, coupled with Trump’s controversial ambassador pick, L. Brent Bozell, who has supported claims of "white genocide" in South Africa, have stoked fears of foreign interference. Mbalula remains resolute, framing these actions as part of a wider campaign to influence South Africa’s domestic policies, but emphasized that the ANC remains committed to its path of transformation and independent foreign policy, despite these external pressures.
Mbalula’s interview also covered growing challenges in U.S.-South African relations, including the U.S. House’s proposed bill that could impose sanctions on ANC leaders over ties with Russia or China. These developments, coupled with Trump’s controversial ambassador pick, L. Brent Bozell, who has supported claims of "white genocide" in South Africa, have stoked fears of foreign interference. Mbalula remains resolute, framing these actions as part of a wider campaign to influence South Africa’s domestic policies, but emphasized that the ANC remains committed to its path of transformation and independent foreign policy, despite these external pressures.
