AfriForum's top leadership has embarked on an international tour to the U.S. in order to sell the Afrikaner-rights organisation's message about land reform and its views on farm murders and rural crime.
The organisation's Ernst Roets, who is also penning a book about farm murders titled "Kill The Boer", posted a picture of him and Kallie Kriel, AfriForum's CEO, on Twitter on Wednesday, after their arrival in London while en route to Texas in U.S. In the post, he refers to land expropriation as "racist theft".
According to a report on Maroela Media, the tour is part of the organisation's intensified campaign to raise awareness of "farm murders and expropriation without compensation". Maroela Media, like AfriForum, is part of the Solidarity Movement.
The report cites the assistance AfriForum recently gave a "prominent Australian journalist" as a reason why the Australian "mainstream media" has started to take notice of events in South Africa. Paul Toohey, who works for Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp, recently visited the country and produced numerous pieces about South Africa, including a video with the title: "Silent Slaughter: Farm Attacks in South Africa".
Maroela Media says Kriel dismissed criticism of their international awareness campaign by commentators and politicians, saying the strategy of branding them as "right-wing" doesn't work anymore. He added that people who believe President Cyril Ramaphosa will prevent legislation to enable expropriation without compensation to be promulgated are "naive".
"AfriForum has heard this story before. Zimbabwean farmers, who were helped by AfriForum in their quest for justice, told us on more than one occasion that they also believed [former Zimbabwean president Robert] Mugabe's statements about land was [sic] mere politicking to retain voter support. They then placed all their hopes on 'constructive' dialogue. The result is there for all to see," Kriel said.
It is uncertain exactly who Kriel and Roets will meet in the U.S.