A black politician in South Africa has called for a revolution to end “white supremacy” of landownership with a “land grab” – a move similar to Robert Mugabe’s policy in Zimbabwe.
Andile Mngxitama, the leader of Black First Land First has set out a list of demands that include “land expropriation without compensation” and nationalisation of the mainly white-owned mines and banks. Whites own an estimated 80 per cent of farmland.
His call comes as tensions increase in South Africa following municipal elections at the start of this month, and as the pressure grows for the white-dominated Democratic Alliance to go into coalitions with the radical black Economic Freedom Fighters led by Julius Malema.
A coalition is likely after the ruling African National Congress, the party of Nelson Mandela, has suffered its worst election result winning 54 per cent of the vote earlier this month. Many black loyalists are angry that they have not achieved economic emancipation two decades after apartheid ended.
Mr Mngxitama, whose party has its powerbase in Soweto, opposes any coalition between the Economic Freedom Fighters and the “racist, anti-black” Democratic Alliance as it would “strengthen the hand of white supremacy”.
He said: “I call on our people to end white racism and to enforce the return of our land. If the unlikely partners form a coalition they could control former ANC strongholds of Johannesburg, Pretoria and Port Elizabeth.”
World news in pictures
World news in pictures
-
1/65 24 April 2017
101-year-old Man Kaur from India celebrates after competing in the 100m sprint in the 100+ age category at the World Masters Games at Trusts Arena in Auckland
Getty Images
-
2/65 24 April 2017
101-year-old Man Kaur of India celebrates after competing in the 100m sprint in the 100+ age category at the World Masters Games at Trusts Arena in Auckland
Getty Images
-
3/65 24 April 2017
Federica Mogherini, European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, at a press conference following a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
TASS via Getty Images
-
4/65 24 April 2017
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Federica Mogherini, the high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy, arrive to attend a joint press conference following their meeting in Moscow
Getty Images
-
5/65 24 April 2017
US Defense Secretary James Mattis pauses during his remarks during a news conference at Resolute Support headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan
Reuters
-
6/65 24 April 2017
An Indian security personnel throws a stone during cashes with Kashmiri students in central's Srinagar's Lal Chowk
Getty Images
-
7/65 24 April 2017
A Kashmiri female student kicks a police vehicle during clashes in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir
EPA
-
8/65 24 April 2017
Kashmiri students throws rocks during clashes with police in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir
EPA
-
9/65 24 April 2017
A Kashmiri student tries to drag his unconscious colleague during clashes in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir
EPA
-
10/65
Lucca-born Del Grande, a blogger and human rights activist, was arrested in Hatay Province near the Syria-Turkey border but no charges have been brought
EPA
-
11/65 24 April 2017
Italian Reporter Gabriele Del Grande with his partner Alexandra D'Onofrio talian Mnister of Foreign Affairs Angelino Alfano on Del Grande's arrival at Bologna's airport, Italy
EPA
-
12/65 24 April 2017
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin, Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern, and his wife, Eveline Steinberger-Kern, stand during a ceremony marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, in Jerusalem
AP
-
13/65 24 April 2017
An Israeli holocaust survivor and one of his relatives lay flowers at the Hall of Remembrance, where the names of major death and concentration camps are written, during a ceremony marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem
Getty Images
-
14/65 24 April 2017
People stop and stand in silence in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, as sirens wailed across Israel for two minutes marking the annual day of remembrance for the six million Jewish victims of the Nazi genocide
Getty Images
-
15/65 24 April 2017
Israel began marking Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Day at sundown on April 23 with a ceremony at the Yad Vashem memorial museum in Jerusalem, which commemorates the Jews killed by the Nazi regime during World War II
Getty Images
-
16/65 24 April 2017
People stop and stand in silence on a Jerusalem's downtown street, as sirens wailed across Israel for two minutes marking the annual day of remembrance for the six million Jewish victims of the Nazi genocide
Getty Images
-
17/65 23 April 2017
Members of team USA celebrate with Junkanoo dancers after the IAAF/BTC World Relays Bahamas 2017 at Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas
Getty Images
-
18/65 23 April 2017
Members of team USA celebrate with Junkanoo dancers after the IAAF/BTC World Relays Bahamas 2017 at Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas
Getty Images
-
19/65 23 April 2017
Emmanuel Macron wins First round of French presidential elections
Rex
-
20/65 23 April 2017
Emmanuel Macron wins First round of French presidential elections
Rex
-
21/65 23 April 2017
Emmanuel Macron celebrates ater the first round of presidential election
Rex
-
22/65 23 April 2017
A giant spider sculpture sits in the infield as cars go by during the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama auto race, in Birmingham, Alabama
AP
-
23/65 23 April 2017
Afghan Special Forces watch at the site where a MOAB, or ''mother of all bombs'', struck the Achin district of the eastern province of Nangarhar, Afghanistan
Reuters
-
24/65 23 April 2017
Guests watch a video of US President Donald Trump as he addresses the 15th Plenary Assembly of the World Jewish Congress in New York City
Reuters
-
25/65 21 April 2017
Campaign posters of French presidential election candidate for the En Marche ! movement Emmanuel Macron and French presidential election candidate for the far-right Front National (FN) party Marine Le Pen
Getty Images
-
26/65 20 April 2017
In this handout provided by NASA, the Soyuz MS-04 rocket carrying Expedition 51 Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin of Roscosmos and Flight Engineer Jack Fischer of NASA launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan
Getty Images
-
27/65 20 April 2017
Visitors listen to remarks by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on a giant monitor in the atrium of the IMF headquarters during a press briefing to open the IMF and World Bank's 2017 Annual Spring Meetings, in Washington DC
Reuters
-
28/65 20 April 2017
A Kashmiri school girl throws stones at Indian paramilitary soldiers during a protest in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir
AP
-
29/65 20 April 2017
Kashmiri school girls tend to wounded girl after she was hit by a stone during a protest in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Government forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Thursday fired tear gas to stop student demonstrations as sporadic protests by students continued on straight fourth day even as authorities closed colleges and universities in the restive region. The students have been protesting since Monday against a police raid in a college in southern Pulwama town on Saturday in which at least 50 students were injured
AP
-
30/65 20 April 2017
Former president of Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre addresses the media after testifying in the Guertel political corruption case at the National Court in Madrid, Spain
EPA
-
31/65 20 April 2017
US Defense Secretary James Mattis briefs reporters after his arrival in Tel Aviv, Israel
AP
-
32/65 20 April 2017
An exterior view for the Holy Shrine of Imam Musa al-Kadim in the Kadhimiyah district of Baghdad, Iraq. Tens of thousands of Shiite worshippers streamed into the Iraqi capital amid heavy security to mark the anniversary of the death of Imam Musa al-Kadim who was the seventh of the twelve Shia Imams
EPA
-
33/65 20 April 2017
Indian nomad youths play in the water with their herd of buffaloes as they cool off in the Tawi River on a hot day on the outskirts of Jammu
Getty Images
-
34/65 20 April 2017
Russian Defence Ministry's forest guard member controls a firefighting robot during drills to fight wildfires
Getty Images
-
35/65 20 April 2017
A firefighting robot during drills to fight wildfires held by Russian Defence Ministry's forest guards
Getty Images
-
36/65 19 April 2017
Demonstrators take cover with a piece of corrugated tin roofing during anti-government protests in Caracas, Venezuela. Tens of thousands of opponents of President Nicolas Maduro flooded the streets of Caracas in what's been dubbed the 'mother of all marches' against the president
AP
-
37/65 19 April 2017
Opposition supporters clash with police during protests against unpopular leftist President Nicolas Maduro in San Cristobal, Venezuela
Reuters
-
38/65 19 April 2017
Government supporters attend a rally in Caracas, Venezuela
Reuters
-
39/65 19 April 2017
An artist's rendering of a Harper's Bazaar magazine cover is projected onto the Empire State Building's north facade to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Harper's Bazaar Magazine in New York
EPA
-
40/65 19 April 2017
Zoe Saldana at the 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' film premiere in Los Angeles, California
Rex
-
41/65 17 April 2017
A femen attacks Marine Le Pen as she delivers a speech in Paris
Rex
-
42/65 16 April 2017
People take part in the Colour Run 2017 's edition in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The Colour Run is a five kilometres paint race without winners nor prizes, while runners are showered with coloured powder at stations along the run
Getty Images
-
43/65 16 April 2017
A woman pours coloured powder on a man as they take part in the Colour Run 2017 's edition, in Paris
Getty Images
-
44/65 16 April 2017
A Somali soldier patrols next to the burnt-out wreckage of a car that was used by suspected al-shabab fighters
Getty Images
-
45/65 16 April 2017
Rescuers of the Malta-based NGO Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) place a dead migrant on their rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) into a body bag before transferring it to their ship Phoenix, after some 20 migrants drowned in the central Mediterranean in international waters off the coast of Libya
Reuters
-
46/65 16 April 2017
Some 662 people dressed as Charlie Chaplin pose for a group photo in front of the Manoir de Ban during an attempt of the world's largest gathering of people dressed as 'The Tramp' on the occasion of Charlie Chaplin's birthday, and to celebrate the first year of the museum "Chaplin's World by Grevin", in Corsier, above Vevey, Switzerland
EPA
-
47/65 16 April 2017
Some 662 people dressed as Charlie Chaplin pose for a group photo in front of the Manoir de Ban during an attempt of the world's largest gathering of people dressed as 'The Tramp' on the occasion of Charlie Chaplin's birthday, and to celebrate the first year of the museum "Chaplin's World by Grevin", in Corsier, above Vevey, Switzerland
EPA
-
48/65 16 April 2017
A damaged bus is seen after an explosion yesterday at insurgent-held al-Rashideen, Aleppo province, Syria
Reuters
-
49/65 16 April 2017
Girls enjoy ice cream in a zoo in Pyongyang, North Korea
Reuters
-
50/65 16 April 2017
A child looks through the rear window of a bus in Pyongyang, North Korea
Reuters
-
51/65 15 April 2017
Head of a legendary ethnic Miao goddess statue is lifted at the construction site of the statue, in Jianhe County, Guizhou Province
Reuters
-
52/65 15 April 2017
Members of Acapulco tourist police attend injured tourists after a shootout in Acapulco, Mexico. A shootout in the tourist area of the resort left one dead and seven wounded on Saturday night, local authorities reported
Getty Images
-
53/65 15 April 2017
Members of Acapulco tourist police attend injured tourists after a shootout in Acapulco, Mexico
Getty Images
-
54/65 15 April 2017
A bald eagle rests on a perch at Eagle Beach State Recreation Area in Juneau, Alaska
AP
-
55/65 15 April 2017
Competitors take part in Stage 6 of the 32nd edition of the Marathon des Sables In the dunes of Merzouga in the southern Moroccan Sahara desert
Getty Images
-
56/65 15 April 2017
Competitors take part in Stage 6 of the 32nd edition of the Marathon des Sables In the dunes of Merzouga in the southern Moroccan Sahara desert. The 32nd edition of the marathon is a live stage 250 kilometre race through a formidable landscape in one of the world's most inhospitable climates
Getty Images
-
57/65 15 April 2017
A Trump supporter holds on to another man for support after being pepper sprayed by protesters at a 'Patriots Day' free speech rally on April 15, 2017 in Berkeley, California
Getty Images
-
58/65 15 April 2017
More than a dozen people were arrested after fist fights broke out at a park where supporters and opponents of President Trump had gathered
Getty Images
-
59/65 15 April 2017
Hundreds of people with opposing opinions on President Donald Trump threw stones, lit fires, tossed explosives and tear gas and attacked each other with makeshift weapons as police stood by
Getty Images
-
60/65 15 April 2017
A conservative protestor squares off with a anti-fascist protestor during the Patriots Day Free Speech Rally in Berkeley, California
Reuters
-
61/65 15 April 2017
An anti-fascist protestor is detained by law enforcement during the Patriots Day Free Speech Rally in Berkeley, California
Reuters
-
62/65 15 April 2017
Smoke billowing following a suicide car bombing in Rashidin, west of Aleppo, that targeted buses carrying Syrians evacuated from two besieged government-held towns of Fuaa and Kafraya
Getty Images
-
63/65 15 April 2017
Female bodybuilders prepare themselves for judging backstage during the 2017 NABBA WFF Asia Seoul Open Championship in Seoul, South Korea
Getty Images
-
64/65 15 April 2017
Female bodybuilders prepare themselves for judging backstage during the 2017 NABBA WFF Asia Seoul Open Championship in Seoul, South Korea
Getty Images
-
65/65 15 April 2017
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un waving to people after the military parade in Pyongyang marking the 105th anniversary of the birth of late North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung
Getty Images
Mr Mngxitama, who criticises the ANC for failing to “use its power to advance black liberation”, warned that a coalition with Democratic Alliance would only “benefit the same people who have benefited from stealing our land”.
In the lead up to the 3 August municipal elections, 13 ANC politicians were murdered and the South African Broadcasting Corporation put a ban on broadcasting attacks on government buildings, fearing it would provoke more violence.
South Africa’s 55 million population is 77 per cent black and nine per cent white, but blacks are becoming increasingly frustrated at inequalities. Many get half the pay of whites, only three per cent of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is black-owned, and the four major banks are white-dominated.
Justice Piitso, of the South African Communist Party, aligned to the ANC, said: “A severe storm is coming if the elite does not further black economic empowerment.
Read more
“Whites still own the mines, tourism, our livestock, the land, the air, the sea. If they don’t reform the economy this country will explode.”
South Africa’s white minority has also been warned by mainstream ANC politicians that they face an “uprising” if they fail to make urgent reforms to end “economic apartheid”.
ANC leaders are now urging radical reforms, including nationalisation of industry, to win back the black vote.
Kebby Maphatsoe, the veterans’ minister, said: “We are very, very worried if we don’t do anything to change our economy from being in the hands of the minority we will have our people uprising.”
There are an estimated 1.6 million British expats living in South Africa. Some are nervous that calls for “land grabs” could destabilise the country.
“There is a danger of racial tension getting out of hand where people point to the whites and demand their land back,” said David Mitchell. “It could make living here very difficult.”
The ANC, led by the controversial Jacob Zuma, will face its next major test in the 2019 general election.
- More about:
- South Africa
- Elections
- Apartheid
- ANC
- Robert Mugabe