Cape Independence group rejects Trump’s refugee offer, seeks self‑rule instead

Cape Town – The Cape Independence Advocacy Group has rejected US President Donald Trump’s offer to help Afrikaners resettle in the United States as refugees, saying they want to remain in South Africa and pursue self-governance in the Western Cape instead.

In an open letter, the group thanked Trump for supporting victims of alleged racial persecution but said Afrikaners and other minorities do not want to “flee” Africa.

Instead, they called on the US to support a referendum for Western Cape independence and the creation of a separate “homeland”.

The group argued that minorities in South Africa need the freedom to govern themselves rather than relocation abroad.

“Afrikaners and other minority groups do not need a new home. We love the one we have, we just need to be able to make our own decisions and to decide for ourselves how we want to be governed as opposed to having that dictated to us,” the group wrote.

Open letter to President @realDonaldTrump following the extension of the Afrikaner refugee programme

We greatly appreciate his administration’s outspoken concerns for minority communities in South Africa but propose an alternative solution – help us secure a home here in Africa pic.twitter.com/43n6cJX40x

— Cape Independence Advocacy Group (@LetsFreeTheCape) May 21, 2026

They added: “Our own homeland – a revived Cape of Good Hope, Cape Independence – will do more for Afrikaners and other minorities than refugee status ever can.”

The stance sparked backlash on social media, with critics accusing the organisation of promoting division and threatening South Africa’s sovereignty.

Some Afrikaners also disagreed with the group, arguing that leaving South Africa was a safer option.

The Cape Independence Advocacy Group, linked to the Referendum Party, campaigns for the Western Cape to become an independent state through a public referendum.