The African National Congress (ANC) is urgently rallying international support to stop a looming US sanctions bill that could target its senior leaders—including President Cyril Ramaphosa.
This follows approval by two powerful committees in the US House of Representatives of the US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025. The bill, sponsored by Republican Congressman Ronny Jackson, accuses the ANC government of siding with America’s geopolitical rivals such as China, Russia, Iran, and even groups the bill brands as “terrorists.”
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri confirmed on Wednesday that the party is appealing to US Democrats with historic anti-apartheid ties to block the bill. “Some Democrats remember South Africa’s freedom struggle and will resist backing a president who seeks to silence sovereign nations,”he said.
If signed into law, the bill would impose sanctions on ANC officials implicated in corruption, misrule, and what it terms “geopolitical betrayal.” It criticizes the ANC’s backing of authoritarian regimes, alleged human rights abuses, and the collapse of state entities like Eskom and Transnet—resulting in rolling blackouts and crumbling infrastructure.
Ramaphosa’s outspoken stance on Gaza, where he labeled Israeli actions “genocide” in 2023, has further enraged Trump allies.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has already issued an executive order targeting South Africa’s Expropriation and Education Laws, sparking outrage among right-wing groups and white minority lobbies, including AfriForum. They claim the laws threaten Afrikaner property rights and language.
In a rare show of unity, Ramaphosa recently visited Washington D.C. with DA leader John Steenhuisen and business tycoon Johann Rupert, hoping to defuse tensions. But AfriForum remains defiant. Communications head Ernst van Zyl told Newzroom Afrika that “reckless diplomacy” had consequences. “We warned Ramaphosa. If the US punishes the country, it’s because of the ANC’s extremism, not us.”
On social media, Congressman Jackson was blunt: “South Africa chose sides. They abandoned us for communists and terrorists.”
With the bill headed for House debate and a likely Senate vote, its future lies in Democratic hands. But regardless of the outcome, the fallout is already rattling South Africa’s economy and global standing.
