President Cyril Ramaphosa has cautioned against misinformation and false narratives that seek to portray South Africa as a deeply divided society, warning that such narratives are intended to sow fear, hatred and division.
Speaking at the National Day of Reconciliation commemoration at the Ncome Museum in Nquthu on Tuesday, Ramaphosa said individuals and groups, both locally and internationally, are deliberately misrepresenting the state of race relations and democracy in the country.
“There are those who are trying their utmost to paint a false picture of us as the South African people,” the President said.
Critics ignore evidence
He noted that critics often ignore evidence showing that most South Africans remain hopeful about the country’s democratic future and believe race relations have improved since the advent of democracy in 1994.
“They do not show the pictures of African, white, Indian and coloured children learning together, studying together and playing together. They do not want to talk about the friendships, neighbourliness and kindness shown by black and white towards each other,” Ramaphosa said.
The President highlighted everyday examples of social cohesion, including cross-cultural friendships, shared communities and young people embracing one another’s languages, music and traditions.
“They don’t want to play the social media clips we are seeing of young Afrikaners in veldskoens dancing to amapiano, and white teenagers speaking fluent isiZulu with their friends,” he said.
Positive developments
Cyril Ramaphosa added that detractors also overlook positive developments such as successful land restitution, shared land use and the growth of black commercial farmers, instead promoting narratives designed to incite fear and hatred.
He urged South Africans not to allow misinformation to undermine national unity, stressing that the country’s diversity should be seen as a source of strength rather than division.
The President reiterated the importance of the National Dialogue process, which aims to bring together all sectors of society to forge a shared vision for South Africa’s future.
“No person, no group and no community must be excluded from that dialogue. Let us use the National Dialogue to resolve our differences and to find common ground,” he said.
Honest conversation
Ramaphosa said open engagement and honest conversation were essential to addressing persistent challenges such as poverty, inequality, crime, corruption and gender-based violence.
“We must not try to hide our differences. We must speak about them and continue to work to bridge them,” he said.
Reflecting on the historical significance of the venue, Ramaphosa said hosting the 2025 commemoration at Ncome reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to transforming painful symbols of the past into platforms for dialogue, healing and shared nationhood.
The Ncome Museum commemorates the Battle of Ncome on 16 December 1838, in which thousands of Zulu warriors lost their lives defending their land.
“As we continue to build our nation together as South Africans, there will be no one who will be able to plant the seed of discrimination and exclusiveness amongst us,” the President said.
