South Africa’s Democratic Alliance filed a legal challenge on Monday against the country’s land expropriation law, the same legislation U.S. President Donald Trump referenced last year when he cut aid to South Africa.
The DA, the second-largest party in the governing coalition, argues the Expropriation Act gives the state overly broad powers and could scare off investors.
Signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in January 2025, the law allows the government to take land in the public interest, and in some cases without compensation. It was designed to address racial imbalances in land ownership that date back to apartheid. So far, no land has been seized under the Act.
Ramaphosa’s African National Congress defends the law as a key step toward economic transformation. The ANC notes that most private farmland is still owned by the white minority.
The DA’s case will be heard alongside two separate challenges brought by Afrikaner advocacy groups. Those groups claim Afrikaners, descendants of mostly Dutch settlers, face discrimination. South Africa has rejected that claim. Trump has offered refuge to Afrikaners, citing the issue.
Independent analyst Sandile Swana described the DA’s move as “shadowboxing,” saying both coalition partners will argue forcefully over land reform without collapsing their partnership.
The ANC and DA formed a coalition in 2024 after the ANC lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since 1994. The alliance has been tense, and the court case adds pressure ahead of municipal elections in November.
The government maintains the Expropriation Act is similar to laws in other countries and rejects Trump’s criticism of its land policies.
