Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has responded to the meeting between US President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that took place in the United States on Wednesday, 21 May.

Malema claimed he was the centre of attention at the meeting, where Donald Trump reportedly questioned Ramaphosa on why he had not arrested the EFF leader for chanting, “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer”.

Trump raised concerns about farm murders and the expropriation of land from white South Africans, asking his team to play video clips of Malema chanting during various addresses.

Ramaphosa was reportedly uncomfortable when the videos were played and asked his Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, to help him respond to a question about farm killings.

“I’ve been a target of this man for ten years,” billionaire businessman Johann Rupert, who was also present at the meeting, stated.

“A group of older men gathered in Washington to gossip about me. No significant amount of intelligence has been produced about white genocide. We will not compromise our political principles on land expropriation without compensation for political expediency,” Malema posted on his X account following the meeting.

The meeting at the White House came after Ramaphosa referred to a group of 59 white South Africans who had applied for refugee status in the US as “cowards“.

Trump remarked that white farmers were “fleeing South Africa“. He and his associate, South African-born Elon Musk, have previously claimed that a “genocide“ of white farmers is occurring in South Africa, a claim widely discredited.

Trade was also on the agenda, as South Africa had faced 30% tariffs imposed by the US.

EFF responds to Trump and Ramaphosa meeting

The Economic Freedom Fighters, Malema’s party, also issued a statement in response to the meeting between Trump and Ramaphosa, expressing strong disapproval.

The EFF criticised the meeting, stating that what should have been a discussion on diplomatic, trade, and economic relations had instead focused on their party leader and “his principled position” on the return of land to African people.

The party expressed no surprise at the composition of Ramaphosa’s delegation to the US, which included Johann Rupert, Ernie Els, and John Steenhuisen.

They described the interaction as being dominated by “white privileged men who have accumulated wealth at the expense of African people.”

The EFF noted how Trump played “numerous clips of the President of the EFF” speaking and singing about the unequal distribution of land in South Africa.

“The chant ‘Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer’ is a song that expresses the desire to dismantle the system of white minority control over South Africa’s resources,” the EFF stated.

Back in 2010, Malema was put on trial for singing the song. It was initially declared hate speech, but the Johannesburg High Court later ruled that the song did not constitute hate speech or incite violence.

EFF denounces contradictory delegation

The EFF added that South Africa should be embarrassed by a delegation that contradicted itself, but took pride in Malema’s legislative and political agenda, which they claimed is “shaking the corridors of imperialism in the US”.

“Our Commander-in-Chief is regarded as one of the great revolutionaries, and Donald Trump, in his illiterate rants, has called for his arrest simply for advocating land expropriation without compensation.”

“As a result, the EFF is alarmed by calls to stop the EFF President from chanting a liberation heritage song. We will oppose any attempts to compromise our laws in order to accommodate Starlink’s operations in South Africa,” the EFF said.

Malema and his party concluded by affirming that they would defend their “constitutional democracy and never bow to imperialism”.