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South African businessman Rob Hersov is facing growing backlash after making racially charged comments on an American podcast, sparking fresh debate about race relations in the country.
Appearing on Thought Leaders, a conservative-leaning podcast associated with the Epoch Times, Hersov referred to Black South Africans as “barbaric” and described the revered 19th-century Zulu king Shaka as “a rapist” who killed people by throwing them off cliffs.
His remarks have been widely condemned across South Africa’s political and civil society landscape, with critics accusing him of reviving colonial-era stereotypes and inflaming racial divisions at a volatile time.
“These are not just words—they’re part of a narrative that dehumanizes and distorts,” said political analyst Siphamandla Zondi. “It’s election-style rhetoric with no factual grounding.”
Hersov further claimed that South Africa sees two farm attacks a day and that white farmers are three times more likely to be murdered than police officers. However, no credible data backs those claims.
His assertions echo talking points frequently cited by AfriForum, a group criticized for exaggerating farm attack statistics and advancing the controversial “white genocide” narrative. Government data tells a different story.
Even though Hersov claimed rampant violence against white farmers, police data shows a total of 49 farm murders in the 2022-23 reporting period, compared to 111 police officers killed during the same period. A briefing from then-police minister Senzo Mchunu revealed that only one of 12 victims in farm-related murders during the last quarter of 2024 was white.
Hersov’s comments also drew comparisons to recent remarks made by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who previously claimed a white genocide was unfolding in South Africa and suggested cutting U.S. aid while fast-tracking immigration for Afrikaners.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has pushed back on those claims, saying they distort the realities of violence in South Africa and do not reflect government policy.
“What you saw in the speeches made is not government policy,” Ramaphosa said in response to the controversy. “We have a multiparty democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves.”
Analyst GoodEnough Mashigo said Hersov’s remarks belong to a “bygone era” and should be treated accordingly.
“I don’t think anybody takes him seriously, nor do I think he can impact the reconciliation journey initiated in 1996,” he said.
Zondi warned, however, that even fringe views can become harmful when given traction by influential figures abroad.
“When these narratives get picked up by people like Trump, they stop being harmless opinion and start influencing real policy decisions,” he said.
Hersov has not responded publicly to the criticism.
