Mokonyane: ‘Nobody must shut us up because Trump has become a bully’ 

South Africa would not be bullied or forced to abandon some of its policies to bow down to the US, said the ANC’s first deputy secretary-general, Nomvula Mokonyane.

She made the remarks during a briefing on Wednesday, before the party’s people’s march set to take place on Saturday. 

South Africa could not be bullied, she said, adding that the country was a sovereign state. 

“Nobody must shut us up because [US President Donald] Trump has become a bully. We can’t be bullied. Leaders of the ANC have been singled out. We are not scared.We died in prison, we died in the streets of Sharpeville and we died on the streets of every township. Nobody must silence us because Trump has become a bully,” said Mokonyane.

On Saturday, the ANC and several organisations are set to march from Mary Fitzgerald Square to the Constitutional Court to mark 30 years since the adoption of the Constitution.

Marches will also be held in KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape and other provinces, with members of the party travelling to Johannesburg.

The march is also aimed at defending the country’s sovereignty and democratic gains amid tension with the US.

The US has, in recent months, raised concerns about aspects of South Africa’s policy framework, including broad-based black economic empowerment and the Land Expropriation Act, arguing that they might have unintended consequences for certain groups. 

The concerns have been echoed by organisations such as AfriForum, which has engaged with US policymakers to lobby on issues affecting minority rights in South Africa.

The Trump administration has repeatedly raised allegations that white South Africans are being persecuted, with Trump at times referring to a so-called “white genocide”.

Last week, the US ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell III, was summoned to Pretoria after he criticised several South African policies, including its diplomatic ties with Iran and its affirmative action laws aimed at addressing racial inequality, during a meeting with business leaders.

His remarks also touched on the politically sensitive issue of the liberation struggle chant, Kill the Boer, that South African courts have ruled does not constitute hate speech when used in a political context.

Mokonyane said marching to Constitution Hill was about showing what South Africans stood for, rather than protesting against the US.

The US, through its administration, appeared to be among those seeking to undermine South Africa’s globally respected Constitution, she said.

“We will use that historic date to come out in our numbers and defend our sovereignty,” said Mokonyane. “Our policies cannot be written by others, as they serve the interests of our country.”

Mokonyane accused Bozell of interfering in South Africa’s sovereignty before even being officially appointed as ambassador.

“We have an ambassador-in-waiting already wanting to divide South Africans. Our unity is paramount. Until the president receives and accepts his credentials, he is not an ambassador to the Republic of South Africa.

“Others can meet with him and interact with him but until the head of state receives him and accepts his credentials, we are not even looking forward to an invitation [for a meeting with Bozell], because it will not add value.”

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said South Africans could not afford to do nothing while Trump continued to act unilaterally.

“We can’t fold our arms while Trump is tweeting and at the stroke of a pen, passing laws dictating what will happen while the world shrinks. We don’t subscribe to that. We subscribe to multipolarism.

“They say we have passed racist laws in our constitutional democracy that seek redress. We are not shocked by ambassador Bozell — he held that view in 1987 when he called the ANC a terrorist organisation.

“He has not even presented his credentials to the president but is already speaking out on various matters. Yet when we merely mention a name, they say: ‘No, he was in Iran and is not accepted.’ I’m sure the government is looking for someone who will be accepted in America.”