President Cyril Ramaphosa has denounced a group of 59 white South Africans who recently relocated to the United States, calling them "cowards" for leaving instead of contributing to the nation’s efforts to overcome its apartheid legacy.

The group of Afrikaners arrived in the US on Monday after being granted refugee status by President Donald Trump, who cited racial discrimination against them as the reason. They were welcomed at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., by senior US officials, including Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau, who stated the group had been "living under a shadow of violence and terror" in South Africa.

At an agricultural exhibition in South Africa's Free State province, Ramaphosa responded sharply, saying the departure reflects a lack of commitment to rebuilding the country. “When you run away, you are a coward,” he stated. “As South Africans, we are resilient. We must stay here and solve our problems together.”

He added that he believes those who left would eventually return: “There is no country like South Africa. They’ll be back soon.”

Ramaphosa also dismissed international claims of a “white genocide” in South Africa — a narrative promoted by Trump and South Africa-born billionaire Elon Musk — as “false.” These claims have been widely discredited by researchers and human rights groups.

The US has expressed concern over South Africa's land reform efforts, particularly a new law signed by Ramaphosa in January that allows land to be seized without compensation under specific conditions deemed to be in the public interest. Despite the law’s passage, the South African government says no land has yet been confiscated.

Decades after the fall of apartheid, land ownership in South Africa remains heavily skewed, with white farmers still owning the majority of productive farmland. This inequality has been a persistent source of frustration among black South Africans and a driving force behind the government’s land reform push.

Ramaphosa emphasized that the emigrating Afrikaners were leaving not because of persecution, but because they opposed these corrective measures. “They are not happy with efforts to address past injustices,” he said.

Earlier in the day, speaking at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Ramaphosa said he had recently confronted Trump over his administration’s portrayal of the situation in South Africa. “We’re the only country on the continent where colonizers came to stay, and we have never driven them out,” he remarked, insisting that Afrikaners are not being persecuted.

The U.S. refugee resettlement criteria for South Africans include being from a racial minority and having a documented history of past persecution or a credible fear of future harm. Ramaphosa argued the group did not meet these requirements.

The incident has sparked a heated debate online, with some social media users condemning Ramaphosa’s comments as insensitive and dismissive of white South Africans' concerns.

Tensions between the two nations may escalate further, with Trump reportedly threatening to boycott the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa unless the issue is addressed.