A white-only enclave in South Africa is turning to former U.S. President Donald Trump in its latest push for recognition as a self-governing state.
Leaders from Orania, a town of 3,000 white Afrikaners nestled in South Africa’s Karoo region, recently traveled to the United States seeking political backing and investment to strengthen their separatist project. The delegation met with conservative think tanks, political influencers, and low-level Republican figures in New York and Washington.
Joost Strydom, head of the Orania Movement, said the community is looking to secure international recognition and support amid what they see as growing interest in South Africa from right-wing Americans. He argued that South Africa’s diversity makes central governance ineffective, and portrayed Orania as a working model for Afrikaner self-determination.
Founded in 1991 by Afrikaners who rejected the end of apartheid, Orania has grown from 300 settlers to a small but expanding population. The town collects its own taxes, provides local services, uses a community currency, and generates nearly half of its power from solar energy.
Orania’s leaders were guarded about the specifics of their meetings in the U.S. and did not confirm any contact with Trump or his allies. Strydom denied that the group was seeking aid, instead framing the trip as a bid to attract investment for housing and infrastructure to keep up with the town’s 15% population growth.
While the South African government recognizes Orania as a municipality, the Department of International Relations dismissed any notion of autonomy. “They are subject to the laws of South Africa,” said ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri.
Orania’s outreach has sparked controversy at home, especially among critics who say it promotes racial division. The leftist Economic Freedom Fighters accused the town’s leadership of undermining national unity, a claim Orania denies.
Some Afrikaner groups have found sympathetic ears among U.S. conservatives who oppose affirmative action and support Afrikaner nationalist ideals. Trump’s previous suggestion of refugee status for white South African farmers has only fueled hopes among the Orania camp. But the response from U.S. interlocutors was less than what they hoped for.
“The only solution they seemed interested in was U.S. residency,” said former Orania leader Carel Boshoff. “We told them, help us here — we’re not exporting our people.”
Boshoff, grandson of apartheid’s chief architect Hendrik Verwoerd, envisions an Afrikaner territory stretching to South Africa’s west coast. For now, Orania remains a symbolic stronghold for those who feel excluded by South Africa’s post-apartheid transformation.
Supporters like Hanlie Pieters, who recently relocated from Johannesburg, say Black empowerment policies leave little room for their children’s futures. “What opportunities will they have?” she asked, watching trainees at the town’s technical college.
Despite the criticisms, Orania continues to attract those seeking cultural preservation and a controlled environment. Meanwhile, many Black South Africans still face dire living conditions. Bongani Zitha, 49, who has lived in a Soweto shack since 1995, expressed mixed feelings about the Afrikaner enclave. “They’re doing well. At least they have health, education — everything,” he said. “Unlike us, they can live where they want.”
