USA Vs S/Africa: President Ramaphosa’s Masterclass in Diplomacy | By Gimba Kakanda
The analyses of the Oval Office meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, where the former made provocative claims about the mass killings of white Afrikaner farmers in South Africa, have left the usual suspects from our part of the continent unimpressed. We are so blinded by anti-West sentiment that we often fail to consider the implications of a tit-for-tat, especially when we are only punching from a place of weakness.
The thaw between France and certain Francophone countries excites some of us, and while the sovereignty of these nations matters, the diplomatic option remains the most favourable one. If the South African President had taken the bait and chosen pettiness in that confrontational exchange with a more powerful state, he could have exposed his country to punitive measures such as sanctions or further aid withdrawal. The victims would have been ordinary South Africans.
Ramaphosa’s composure mitigated the risk of the U.S. pushing South Africa further to the edge. It was a calculated act of strategic restraint. And while I am impressed by the fact that he was able to clarify that the Julius Malema-led EFF is a minority party with no influence on government policy, that South Africa’s high crime rates affect all communities, predominantly Black communities, and that the government is addressing crime and ensuring the safety of all its citizens, I think his delegation could have done more. They ought not to have let him leave without countering the debunked claims of white farmers’ graves and crosses, which even social media users thousands of miles away from South Africa had known to be false.
Trump had aides feeding him information and offering him documents to tender as proof of a non-existent genocide, but Ramaphosa stood alone, with only a whispered intervention from his delegation, which did not appear to present a clear counterpoint from his aide. It could have resulted in irreparable reputational damage if the U.S. media had chosen to amplify Trump’s claims.
An impulsive president might have counted on the rising powers in the East to justify flashing a middle finger to the U.S. President right in the middle of the Oval Office. That is the breed of leaders we are often tempted to cheer, the type that reject a bag of sugar from a wealthy neighbour even when they have none of their own, relying instead on a single cup of sugar from another neighbour with an even less trustworthy record. This is why people with inflated egos have no business sitting on the throne.
South Africa is one of the richest countries on the continent and has strategic alliances that could help it cushion the effects of U.S.-led sanctions, especially through platforms like BRICS. Yet, Ramaphosa has chosen the path of balance, maintaining a working relationship with the U.S. while also engaging with other global powers such as China and Russia. That is how you diversify your country’s international partnerships, reduce overreliance on any single power, and deepen your strategic autonomy.
President Ramaphosa has offered his contemporaries, especially those who mistake shouting in the meeting room for effective statecraft, a profound lesson in the fine art of diplomacy.
