By TZBN Staff and Agencies.
South Africa’s ruling political party, the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Government are struggling to contain a movement that seeks to split South Africa into two countries by turning the Western Cape Province into a separate country.
The secessionist group, The Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG), was formed in 2020 to coordinate and support people and organisations working towards Cape independence. Five years later in 2025, the unpopular group is taking steps to lobby the United States of America for help to split South Africa.
Authorities in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) nation are concerned, although TZBN Correspondent Rusana Philander in Cape Town, says the secessionist movement is supported by only a small group of white conservatives in a ‘race-centered’ political party. The largest opposition political party, The Democratic Alliance (DA), which currently governs the country in collaboration with the ANC, does NOT support the Western Cape secession movement.
The CIAG recently issued a statement anouncing that it will be sending a delegation to the US to meet with US officials. “The CIAG sets out its objectives in visiting the US which include both fundraising and diplomatic support for its campaign to force the Western Cape Premier to call a referendum on Cape Independence, as well as plans to hold a private referendum”, the statement reads in part.
The CIAG has written to the president, the minister of International Relations and Cooperation, and the Western Cape Premier, formally notifying them of their intention to send a delegation to the US to meet US officials seeking help to effect the Cape Independence.
“Cape Independence would align strongly with the foreign policy aims of the current US administration,” the CIAG statement adds.
Present–day conservertive white South Africans are remnants of South Africa’s white supremercist society in which black Africans were marginalized, some of them forced to live in isolated pockets of the country called Bantustans and not allowed to mix with whites.
The CIAG overture to meet the current US administration for help denotes an effort to meet like- minded people in America, where whites forced into bantustan-like reservations all the red Indians native to north America; and considering allegations the current US President is a known white supremercist, a known bigot in some cases, because he ‘looks and smells’ like one.
What happened in South Africa during the 17th century is ironically similar to what happened in North America at the same time, where a combination of Europeans, including Britons and the Dutch, purporting to be Christians with love for neighbor, displaced the indigenous owners of the land–the red Indians who could not defend their land for lack of better defense technology.
In both North America and South Africa, the power of flintlocks and gun powder overwhelmed bows and arrows, spears and clubs and the lands were taken from rightful owners. The CIAG sees hope from ‘brothers’ in north America, to help them protect the white supremercist status quo.
A wave of Dutch settlers who came to South Africa during the 17th centurry dispalced with ease indeginous owners of the land who could not defend their fertile land with bows and arrow, spears and clubs. The indigenous inhabitants of the Cape Province were primarily the San people, also known as Bushmen, and the Khoikhoi also known as Khoi. One character in the movie The God’s Must be Crazy is a bushman with a bow and arrows as his only defence. Any fight between a bushman and a white savage wielding a flintlock rifle full of gun powder would be unfair.
The first Dutch colonists from Europe settled at the so-called Table Bay, now Cape town in 1652 who later formed an apartheid systems which dehumanized Africans.
The African National Congress (ANC) was formed January 8, 1912 to free South Africans from the racist colonists. South Africa gained independence from descendants of racist dutch colonists in 1994– after a bloody 80 years of independence struggle led by the ANC along with other freedom fighter movements including the fiery Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) whose slogan was “one settler, one bullet”.
Now descendants of the boers want to turn the tables–blaming the ANC of corruption and incompetence. Corruption has been widely reported to be a problem in South Africa post-independence— especially after the passing away of South Africa’s first black President Nelson Mandela. This website reported the problem here back in 2014, which justifies some of the blame now being leveled against the governing ANC.
Chrispin Phiri spokesperson for South Africa’s Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation said: “It should be noted that the Cape Independence Advocacy’s proposals have raised concerns among many South Africans due to their potential to undermine national unity and inclusivity.
“Given the organisation’s lack of legitimacy and deliberate attempts to undermine our constitutional values that prioritise social cohesion and equality, the government would be better off focusing on addressing the pressing needs of all citizens through dialogue and policies that strengthen social solidarity.”
Other organisations have also expressed concern about the matter. The People’s Movement for Change (PMC) said that they strongly condemn the recent notification by the Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG) to the South African government of their intention to lobby American officials and politically connected individuals for support for Western Cape secession. An ANC cadre who leads PMC, Marius Fransman said: “We find this move to be irrational and deeply irresponsible, as it undermines the unity and shared identity that South Africa has sought to establish following decades of segregation and division.
“This unilateral pursuit of separation not only threatens to revive isolationist tendencies rooted in our painful history but also disregards the democratic and inclusive vision of our constitution.
“South Africa is one nation, indivisible by race, colour, or creed. The actions of the CIAG, which advocate for the fragmentation of our country, contradict the core principles of unity, reconciliation, and shared progress that so many have fought and sacrificed for. It is particularly concerning that such an initiative creates a dangerous sense of exclusion, disenfranchising the very people it purports to represent.”
The Spokesperson for the South African Presidency, Vincent Magwenya, recently told journalists President Cyril Ramaphosa takes a “very strong dim view” of a proposed visit to the United States of America by the Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG), which intends to lobby for the Western Cape’s secession from South Africa. In a formal letter to the President, the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, and the Western Cape Premier, the CIAG confirmed its plan to visit the US to raise funds and seek diplomatic support for its campaign. It also outlined “contingency plans to hold a private referendum should the Premier continue to refuse to consult the Western Cape people on the matter.”
The Presidency has criticised the group’s actions as being out of step with the constitutional principles that underpin South African democracy.
It argued that the CIAG’s international lobbying efforts threatened the values of social cohesion and equality on which the post-apartheid state was founded.
“Our constitutional democracy that we forged in 1994 created a singular, non-racial state that recognises and protects our unity in diversity. From Musina to Cape Town, we are one democratic society that should never be allowed to fall under the chasm of race divide,” Magwenya stated.
In response, the CIAG maintains that its plans are entirely within the bounds of the law and constitutional rights. The organisation insists “it is pursuing Cape Independence legally, peacefully, and democratically” and that its efforts “strengthen rather than subvert constitutional democracy in South Africa.”
Despite the group’s assertions, Magwenya reiterated that while all South Africans enjoy the right to freedom of expression and political participation, those rights come with a responsibility not to undermine national unity.
“There is no part of our beautiful land that can be allowed to secede. As people exercise their constitutional given rights, they must not do so in a manner that undermines and subverts constitutional democracy in South Africa.
“We should all be actively engaged in building a better South Africa in the face of unpredictable geopolitical dynamics.”
Ongoing Diplomatic Strain with the United States
The Presidency’s comments come during heightened diplomatic tension between South Africa and the United States. These strains have deepened following the recent enactment of the Expropriation Act of 2025 and the expulsion of South Africa’s Ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool.
Despite criticisms from Washington, Magwenya clarified that the legislation replaces the apartheid-era 1975 Expropriation Act and is intended to support land reform efforts by constitutional provisions.
“The 2025 Act introduces a transparent expropriation basis that strikes a healthy balance on land reform with legal protections. The Expropriation Act followed all the legally prescribed channels to be enacted into law.”
“It was passed by both the two houses of parliament, the National Assembly (NA) and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). Thereafter, the President signed it into law.”
As diplomatic tensions persist between the two nations and the return of Ambassador Rasool, Magwenya called for restraint from all political actors. He cautioned that inflammatory rhetoric or provocative actions risk further damaging the fragile relationship with the US.
In 2024, the Western Cape province in South Africa showed a population of roughly 12% of the total South African population. The mid-year population was estimated to have increased to 63,02 million in 2024, with the female population accounting for 51,0% (approximately 32,13 million) of the population, this is according to the report released by Statistics South Africa in March 2025.
The Western Cape has a diverse population, with the largest racial groups being Coloured (42.1%), Black (38.8%), and White (16.4%), with a small percentage of Indian or Asian residents.
The population figures raise an important question: Is there any chance the Western Cape province could be seperated from South Africa by the Cape’s 16.4% population of conservative boers? The Western Cape Secession movement and the associated noise sounds more like hot air but which may get American support.
US president Donald Trump recently falsely claimed on social media that the South African government was confiscating white people’s farmland, echoing previous false claims that the country was mistreating white people. The US president then offered expedited asylum to white South Africans interested to migrate to the United States.
