About one hundred Khayelitsha residents visited the Lingelethu police station on Sunday to open a case of high treason against AfriForum.

The group was comprised of churches, business forums and members of several civic organisations.

They have since been followed in opening a case by political parties in Gauteng and elsewhere.

“We opened a case of high treason against AfriForum because of their ill-informed and reckless actions amounting to treasonous conduct and spreading misinformation about our country,” said group leader Eric Kweleta.

The move comes after American president Donald Trump announced he was cutting aid to South Africa and offering refugee status to Afrikaners following claims by AfriForum that Afrikaners were victims of racist laws and threats of land expropriation from the Expropriation Act, which was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa last month.

“This decision was not taken lightly, and we believe it is essential to address AfriForum's harmful activities. We urge the authorities to investigate this matter thoroughly and take appropriate action,” said Kweleta.

“We are calling for the immediate arrest of AfriForum leaders and deregistration of AfriForum as a non-profit organisation due to their actions against the constitution of the Republic of South Africa.”

He said they would closely monitor the investigation and ensure that all relevant evidence was presented to the authorities and that action was taken.

However, according to Kallie Kriel, CEO of AfriForum, the charges are “absurd’ and will not cause sleepless nights.

“It is the duty of civil society and organisations such as AfriForum to shine a light on legislation and actions that threaten the welfare of citizens and the country. We cannot keep quiet about the injustice that is being committed at the expense of South Africa, its citizens, and the South African economy. False allegations that AfriForum has spread ‘misleading information’ about the Expropriation Act and that this is the reason for the USA’s action against South Africa are blatant lies,” he said.

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AfriForum must answer treason charge, say residents