Johannesburg – Amid false claims by the United States of a genocide against white farmers in South Africa, the U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, L. Brent Bozell III, visited AfriForum’s community safety centre in Centurion.
The visit on the eve of Heritage Day, 23 September 2026, came amid tensions between Washington and Pretoria, largely linked to lobbying by local minority groups AfriForum and Solidarity.
AfriForum and Solidarity have faced high-treason complaints over their lobbying in the U.S., with the Hawks confirming in March 2025 that it was investigating four dockets linked to claims of a “white genocide” against farmers.
Ambassador Bozell’s visit to AfriForum’s community safety centre in Centurion comes soon after the U.S. announced a targeted visa-restriction policy on 15 September 2026 aimed at South Africans whom Washington considers responsible for, or complicit in:
- policies that promote race-based discrimination;
- incitement of violence against racial or ethnic minorities; or
- policies enabling land confiscation without compensation in South Africa.
Asked during a local radio interview this week if he believed there was genocide taking place against whites in South Africa, Ambassador Bozell would not be drawn in saying “yes or no”.
However, South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola, who is in the U.S. for the ongoing United Nations 81st General Assembly, has again rejected claims of a genocide against white South Africans, saying the alleged genocide “does not exist”
Seemingly unfazed by the controversies, Kallie Kriel, CEO of AfriForum, welcomed Ambassador Bozell to the community safety centre in Centurion.
Kriel said the visit showcased to the ambassador “AfriForum’s community safety structures and technology-driven control rooms… highlighting the practical role the organisation already plays in combating farm murders and other crimes in rural and urban areas”.
He added that Ambassador Bozell’s visit comes amid AfriForum’s ongoing efforts to resolve the dispute between South Africa and the U.S. regarding farm murders and rural safety by putting forward practical proposals.
As part of these efforts, AfriForum said it recently submitted a comprehensive safety proposal to the South African government.
AfriForum said this proposal demonstrates how community safety structures, such as its nationwide network of 178 neighbourhood and farm watches, can operate within the framework of the law and in cooperation with the South African Police Service (SAPS), private security companies and other safety role-players.
In a statement made available to The Bulrushes, AfriForum said the proposal, if accepted and adopted by the South African government, would address the country’s crime crisis in a coordinated manner through a Public Community Partnership.
“Furthermore, the plan aims to create safer conditions in the country so that people do not feel compelled to leave,” AfriForum said.
During the visit, Ambassador Bozell witnessed AfriForum’s practical implementation of the organisation’s safety plan.
The capacity AfriForum already possesses through its neighbourhood and farm watches to help implement the plan was also showcased to the ambassador during the visit.
AfriForum CEO Kriel said the anti-crime proposal comes at a time when no solution has yet been found for the dispute between the U.S. and South Africa regarding farm murders, rural safety and other crime.
“AfriForum remains focused on playing a constructive role, in the interests of South Africa and its people, to help resolve the dispute between the U.S. and South Africa regarding farm murders and rural safety,”Kriel stated.
“If the South African government responds positively to AfriForum’s proposal for a Public Community Partnership to combat crime, it will strengthen the fight against crime in the interest of everyone in the country.
“AfriForum also believes that the proposal will make a positive contribution towards helping to address US concerns about farm murders and other crimes.”
AfriForum’s safety proposal to the South African government includes, among other things, the establishment of a standing working committee between AfriForum and the SAPS that will focus on involving relevant safety stakeholders in a coordinated anti-crime strategy.
Kriel points out that such a strategy would rely heavily on the use of control rooms such as AfriForum’s, which employ technology – including camera networks, communication systems and crime analysis software – as force multipliers.
These technologies assist local community safety structures, private security companies and the SAPS through, among other things, monitoring, coordinating responses and the deployment of resources during emergencies.
Kriel and Flip Buys, Chairperson of the Solidarity Movement, welcomed Ambassador Bozell during his visit to AfriForum. Senior members of AfriForum’s Community Safety division gave presentations to the ambassador on the various components of AfriForum’s anti-crime strategy.
The following AfriForum anti-crime safety components were showcased:
- neighbourhood watches;
- specialised anti-crime response teams;
- the AfriForum Trauma Unit (which assists victims of crime);
- a disaster management centre;
- training courses; and
- technological resources such as panic buttons, drones, communication systems, camera networks and crime analysis software.
Ambassador Bozell was also shown AfriForum’s control room at its community safety centre, where he was shown dozens of vehicles from the local AfriForum neighbourhood watches leaving for patrol duties.
