By Mosa Cibi
In what can only be described as a staggering display of diplomatic negligence, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has signaled a “hands-off” approach to a brewing national security and reputational crisis. Faced with the arrival of the New York Young Republican Club (NYYRC)—a group notorious for its hard-right, inflammatory rhetoric—at the invitation of the seditious Cape Independence movement, the government’s response has been one of inexplicable passivity.
When challenged on why such hostile actors are granted unfettered access to the country, DIRCO spokesperson Chrispin Phiri offered a response that borders on the delusional:
“The truth can never be hidden, we are certainly not hiding anything.”
A welcome mat for seditious alliances
This “open-door” policy raises a damning question that the state seems desperate to avoid: Should a racist group be allowed to enter South Africa on the invitation of a seditious group like Cape Independence? By failing to exercise its sovereign right to vet or restrict entry to those seeking to undermine the constitutional order, the South African government is effectively subsidizing a platform for those who wish to see the country dismantled.
These sentiments were echoed by well-known lawyer Zac Moselane, who blasted the administration’s perceived weakness in a viral post:
“The South African government needs to start being strict with its VISA rules. The ANC ya ntena maan. Fuck ups who are selling this country. We have a useless president maan.”
To allow a foreign political entity to partner with the seditious Cape Independence movement is not “transparency”—it is a dereliction of duty. While South African citizens are subjected to grueling visa processes and invasive vetting by Western nations, our own government allows hostile propagandists to walk through the front door without so much as a second glance.
The “propaganda mill”: A war the State is losing
Does the South African government genuinely believe that “the truth” is an effective shield in the digital age? Is the SA Government aware that facts don’t matter online as the propaganda mill grinds? The NYYRC delegation isn’t here to find “the truth”; they are here to manufacture a narrative – per the 60 Minutes Investigation. By visiting symbols like the “White Crosses” and filming highly curated content, they are feeding a global disinformation machine that paints South Africa as a failed state of “oppression.”
While DIRCO clings to the quaint notion that “nothing is being hidden,” these groups are busy weaponizing social media to export a distorted, dangerous image of the country to millions of viewers abroad. The government’s “high road” is, in reality, a road to nowhere. In the time it takes for a government spokesperson to draft a polite rebuttal, a 30-second viral clip from a seditious Cape Independence rally has already reached a global audience, poisoning international sentiment and potentially threatening foreign investment.
Conclusion: A Government outmatched and under-informed
The state’s refusal to act against these hostile groups suggests either a profound lack of understanding of modern information warfare or a cowardly refusal to defend the nation’s integrity. By treating the seditious Cape Independence movement and its foreign allies as mere “visitors,” the government is inviting the very instability it claims to oppose.
If the South African government continues to believe that “the truth” will save it while it allows the seeds of sedition to be sown by foreign actors, it will soon find that the only “truth” remaining is its own irrelevance in the face of a global propaganda machine it was too weak to stop. For further context on how foreign narratives are being weaponised. To understand the wider impa t, see our coverage of the US refugee program for Afrikaners and South Africa’s rejection of Elon Musk’s false ‘white genocide’ claims.
