Zingiswa Losi Challenged Trump’s South Africa Narrative "White Genocide"

Zingiswa Losi Challenged Trump’s South Africa Narrative “White Genocide”

(The Post News)- Zingiswa Losi, President of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), made headlines this week with a bold and composed response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial remarks about South Africa. The exchange took place during a high-level meeting at the White House, where a South African delegation led by President Cyril Ramaphosa sought to strengthen economic and diplomatic relations with the United States.

President Trump seized the opportunity to reiterate debunked claims of “systematic killings” of white farmers and raised alarm over South Africa’s land expropriation policies. These claims have been widely criticised for stoking racial tensions and misrepresenting the country’s complex socio-political landscape.

Losi, the only woman in the delegation and the first female president of COSATU, responded firmly and unequivocally. “The problem in South Africa is not necessarily about race, but it’s about crime,” she told Trump. “Black men and women in our rural communities are just as much victims of brutal crimes as anyone else.”

Born in 1975 in KwaZakhele, Eastern Cape, Zingiswa Losi’s commitment to activism began in her youth, shaped by a politically active family and the anti-apartheid struggle. After serving in the South African National Defence Force from 1996 to 1999, she joined Ford Motor Company in Port Elizabeth, where her leadership potential quickly emerged. As a shop steward for the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), she became a vocal advocate for worker rights.

Losi’s intervention in the White House meeting was not only a political statement but a demonstration of principled leadership on an international stage. In the face of persistent misinformation, her response offered a nuanced understanding of South Africa’s challenges, highlighting crime as a national issue that transcends race. Her words carried weight not just as a correction of fact, but as a reflection of the values COSATU has long upheld: equality, justice, and solidarity across communities.