“Apartheid was a means for Afrikaners to assert superiority based solely on their white skin,” Dr. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.
On February 25, at the University of Witwatersrand, political activist and scholar, Dr. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi and historian Professor. Achille Mbembe engaged in a compelling discussion on apartheid’s enduring legacy in South Africa.
At a time when AfriForum, an Afrikaaner rights group —a subgroup of the country’s minority white population—has strongly opposed the recently signed Expropriation Act. The group claimed that their lives and land are under threat and lobbied for external pressure to be exerted on the South African government.
This sense of violation has reignited historical debates about land ownership, power, and identity in South Africa. Scholars like Ndlozi and Mbembe critically examined the origins of the Afrikaner identity and highlight the irony of their appeals for protection from elite allies, given their own historical role in land dispossession
Starting off with some linguistic and historical clarity, Ndlozi said: “The term ‘Afrikaner’ was originally inclusive, referring to natives, slaves, and various groups. However, Dutch settlers later claimed it for themselves to assert their status as white Africans.”
Quoting German philosopher Hannah Arendt, Ndlozi highlighted South Africa’s unique racism, noting that Dutch descendants had declined to a point where only skin colour set them apart from Black Africans. In response, they forged an Afrikaner identity through language, religion, and nationalism, cementing their dominance under apartheid.
Ndlozi said in Western civilisation, Afrikaners were seen as embarrassingly backward, lacking in scientific inventions and adhering to contemptible work ethics- a far cry from typical Western standards.
Mbembe remarked: “In a striking reversal, post-apartheid South Africa now sees former oppressors rebranding themselves as victims—seeking support from powerful allies and claiming they face extermination. This ironic shift demands deeper examination.”
Mbembe expanded on Ndlozi’s point about apartheid being deeply embedded in South Africa, noting that history is once again repeating itself. He drew a parallel to the ongoing violence in Gaza, where the oppression and systemic control once seen under apartheid are reflected in the Israeli attacks on Palestinians.
Mbembe argued that the mechanisms of domination—land dispossession, militarised control, and the denial of basic rights—persist in different forms across time and geography, reinforcing the need to critically examine these patterns of power and resistance.
Afrikaners have historically been known as Voortrekkers, and Ndlozi asserted that if conversations about equality among all South Africans drive Afrikaners to want to leave the country, they should be free to go—just as they have sought refuge elsewhere in the past.
The discussion underscored that apartheid functioned as an imperialist strategy to culturally elevate Afrikaners, reinforcing their dominance through colonization, military force, and other means.
FEATURED IMAGE: Political activist and scholar, Dr.Mbuyiseni Ndlozi shaking hands with Prof.Achille Mbembe after a thought-provoking conversation that they held. Photo by. Wits University
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