In Russia, Errol Musk's unexpected project to settle South Africans

The father of billionaire Elon Musk, Errol Musk, confirmed to AFP on Tuesday that he was working on a project so that white South African farmers, victims of persecution according to him, could benefit from "refugee status" in Russia.

This initiative, which the South African businessman confirmed from Moscow where he is visiting, is similar to that launched by American President Donald Trump for Afrikaners, these descendants of the first settlers, mainly Dutch, at the tip of Africa.

It could prove embarrassing for the party of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the ANC, which is close to Moscow.

Afrikaners have already been emigrating to Russia since at least 2018 via other initiatives. But this new project is carried by a divisive figure in South Africa.

Errol Musk, 79, told CNN at the end of the year that there was "no oppression" during apartheid. For his part, his son regularly accuses the South African government of "racism", accusing it of its positive discrimination programs in favor of the black population.

“The Russian authorities are best placed to explain the reasons for this collaboration with Mr. Musk,” the spokesperson for the South African Minister of Foreign Affairs responded to AFP.

In August, the head of South African diplomacy, Ronald Lamola, described the program to welcome Afrikaners in the United States as "apartheid 2.0", motivated by alleged persecutions.

The milestone of 5,000 South Africans relocated to American soil is about to be reached in April, according to State Department figures consulted by AFP.

- 50 families -

Eroll Musk's project in Russia was mentioned last week on Telegram by the governor of the Vladimir oblast, bordering that of Moscow.

“We discussed the development of agriculture and the prospects of settling 50 families of Dutch origin from South Africa,” said Alexandre Avdeev.

In the vein of Trumpist accusations, Errol Musk justified his program to the local Russian media Gubernia 33 by the murders he claims were hitting white South African farmers.

The septuagenarian was still in Moscow on Tuesday after attending Easter mass in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, in the presence of Vladimir Putin.

He told the Russian agency RIA Novosti that he had briefly met the Russian president.

This visit comes at a time when "Moscow's ban on using Starlink terminals", his son's company, has slowed Russian advances in Ukraine, according to analysis by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), based in the United States.

Starlink was recently the subject of skirmishes on social networks between Elon Musk and the South African presidency.

Cyril Ramaphosa's spokesperson accused Elon Musk of "spreading lies" about the lack of authorization