Nandos said it best: “VAT gaan aan?”.  I left you for one week, I put my soul under the ocean and swam with apex predators and it was sublime, until I broke the surface and gave my final OK. #StageSix loadshedding, #ZeroBudget and the rebirth of apartheid.

If you look up the word treason in the Mirriam Webster dictionary, you’ll find the following:

TREASON (Noun): The crime of betraying one’s country, especially by attempting to kill or overthrow the sovereign or government.

The punishment for treason in South Africa? 25-30 years in prison, apparently. Did #Afriforum and #Solidariteit or whatever these white supremacists call themselves commit treason? Well, let’s unpack this and you decide.

Did they betray our country? Going to Trump and waxing lyrical about a genocide on white farmers that doesn’t exist is probably classified as betrayal. Did they attempt to kill or overthrow the sovereign government of South Africa? Well, they asked for Trump to lay charges and punish Ramaphosa, the democratic leader of the country, so I suppose that is a yes too.

I know I’m going to get hammered for drawing this to the nation’s attention but I want to put it to you that they have the wrong genocide. Let me explain in English that even Kallie can understand. There are 75 people murdered a day in South Africa. These are just ordinary South Africans trying to make it safely through another day in a democratic country. Would you call that a genocide or is it a war? There are a hundred people murdered in the West Bank every day, is that a genocide or a war?  #CheckYourBias

I wrote a piece titled “The War is Here, Naledi” and I still maintain that we are in a state of war in our country. When the crime stats drop by 10% on murder rates and you’re still counting 70 murdered people a day, we are certainly in need of help. That’s the genocide we are concerned with Kallie and Flip. Why didn’t you tell Trump that? Let’s imagine that #Afriforum actually cared about SA, they would have addressed this massive elephant in the room. Ask them and they’d say they do address crime, it’s the biggest driver for the organisation. #Afriforum is not a political party it’s a pyramid scheme. You have to pay a membership and you can’t have your membership in isolation, you have to have a head honcho or a satellite office in your area. You have to buy Afriforum’s walkie talkies, Afriforum’s cameras and Afriforum merch to get any protection from #Afriforum. Sounds a bit like “Afriforum protection money” doesn’t it? Don’t hate on me, I call it like I see it. #CheckYourBias

Let’s move from “VAT gaan aan?” to “Hoekom gaan dit aan” because the white genocide thing really doesn’t make sense. Why is this actually happening? What is the #TheREASON? I know how mad people get when I talk about two things: the Afrikaaner volk and Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestine. It’s my unlucky week because these stories converge. Kallie Kriel told us, with certainty, that South Africa was interfering with other countries by taking Israel to the ICJ. The interviewer stopped him and asked what this has to do with the Afrikaans “cause” and he said well it’s just one of the many things that the ANC and Ramaphosa should be held accountable for. Please tell me you see it? If you disagree with me, ask yourself this question: “What has South Africa’s Bela Act or Expropriation Act got to do with America?” That’s all I want to know. Be mindful when you answer this question, we are a democracy ne? #CheckYourBias

I’ve had a pretty rough media week. Headlines spilled over into my friend circle and I found myself questioning my sanity, repeatedly. I took to #GROK, Musk’s AI. I know, I hate the chop, but I thought let me go straight to the beast and see what he says about #VATGaanAan?

My question was:

Why do you think America is so heavily politically involved in South Africa today? Consider the following situations in your argument. Afriforum’s Washington Memorandum about the plight of the Afrikaans nation; the possibility of a BRICS currency and the impact on the dollar; and include the fact that SA headed up the  ICJ Submission and subsequently Netanyahu and others were declared war criminals in the ICJ Ruling.

It’s a long and detailed response with supporting articles and posts. I won’t share the whole thing; you can do it yourself. Here’s Grok’s response:

The ICJ case as the single biggest driver makes sense. The U.S. response does smell strongest of payback for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. That December 2023 filing at the ICJ didn’t just irritate the U.S.—it hit a nerve with their Israel-first policy. Trump’s aid cut in February 2025—$440 million yanked—came right after South Africa refused to back off, with Foreign Minister Lamola saying “no chance” they’d drop it. The timing’s too tight, and the rhetoric too pointed, to not see it as the main spark. Rubio skipping the G20 meeting in Johannesburg days later, with the White House calling South Africa’s ICJ stance “aggressive,” seals the deal—Israel’s their red line.

The farmer thing—land expropriation without compensation—feels more like a throw-in. Sure, AfriForum’s been loud, and Trump’s order offering Afrikaner farmers refugee status nods to that MAGA crowd. But it’s been simmering since 2018 when South Africa’s parliament started pushing it—why blow it up now unless it’s a handy excuse?

The U.S. doesn’t tank a decades-old partnership over farmland nostalgia or trade talks alone—it’s the courtroom shot at their ally that stung most.

I’ll give it to crusty musty, his own machine rumbled him. I also asked if this campaign against South Africa is orchestrated using #BellPottinger tactics. You can guess it’s response. Who is really behind all of this? #TheREASON

I can’t believe my whole column is again dedicated to the dramatic duo in the WHITE house. There was Elon, in dark glasses, blinged like a rapper, jaw tight, stuttering his words and wielding a chainsaw across the stage with the Argentinian President. He was high as a kite, strung up, wired, tweaked and hanging. I have a question for America: What has Elon Musk got to do with America? He’s not a true American, he got his citizenship in 2002. He’s not a South African, out of his own mouth and he has Canadian citizenship (the 51st State). When did Americans vote this ketamine-pumped megalomaniac billionaire into power? This oke got all the federal employees to write an email with five things they’ve achieved this week, but he made the dire error of releasing the email address for the responses and you can guess what happened next … I emailed him.

Like I said, for me this has become personal, and I hate that. I thought we had moved past this nonsense and then #NOTA comes out and calls white people sub-human. He’s been charged, as he should be. I wonder how much he got paid? #NOTA is irrelevant, why are we even listening to him? But this is what’s been happening, our algorithms are bringing up old hate speech from as far back as twenty years ago and making people believe it happened yesterday. Afriforum and many white South Africans are calling BEE and other laws racist? Astonishing! Do you remember that it was Tata Mandela who came up with that set of laws, the same tata who told the black South Africans to put down their pangas as this was no time for revenge but a time to build a rainbow nation.

I know, I know, that was thirty years ago. And has it worked? Yes and no. I agree it has only made some rich. And generally, they were wealthy anyway. But that doesn’t mean that it couldn’t work. Our application is flawed, and we have to vote out the criminals that are responsible. The #GNU, as much as you loathe to admit it, is working. Did you see Enock knock? No neither did I, that was because the whole of the GNU said that the idea of a VAT increase was ludicrous. That’s a working democracy, as tedious and frustrating as it is. We chose this. #CheckYourBias

I haven’t covered any other news, you’ll have to forgive me for not talking about the terrible flooding and the wild fires. Or that our wounded soldiers are finally home but our deployed battalion is still in the Congo, some of them pregnant. Yip, I know, too many questions. We haven’t spoken about that horror story that is #ZanZhou restaurant and how this is the same restaurant owner who #Mitali exposed at #Babel. I haven’t told you about the ridiculous debacle at SASSA. Or that the #SOPAs were lackluster. To be fair, you didn’t miss much. That mayor who was charged with corruption, #Gwamanda, saw the state withdraw its charges, yip, we’ve been played. I have one story that will make you want to watch this week’s video and that is #Curro Schools #WarCry: if you’re struggling to find your “gees” watch that and you’ll feel better. Also, in little reported news, Dali Filibustering Mpofu’s son was arrested. I hope he knows a good lawyer.

And then over the waters, again, this time to Rome the pope remains in critical condition. We also heard that #Zelenskyy capitulated after Trump called him a dictator. Which is a case in point because yesterday Trump said he doesn’t think he said that. Sigh! Trump is on roids man, he is traveling at a rate of knots. He put up a poster of himself with a crown on his head and called himself King Trump. He shared the most revolting video on his social media channel with an AI video announcing “Trump Gaza”. I dismissed this video four times before a major news network said it was true. The video shows a golden statue of Trump (think end of times vibez) in a region named “Trump Gaza”. Trump and #Santanyahu are sipping cocktails on the beach and #Elon is chucking money in the air. There are even bearded belly dancers wearing Hamas head scarfs. I don’t make this up. I read the news, so you don’t have to. Around the same time, someone in the WHITE house released an AI video of Trump licking Elon’s bare feet with a title “Long live the real King” #VatGaanAan?

Israel increased incursions into Syria because … it’s on their borders. I’m not even kidding. There are 1000 people dead this week in Jenin and forty thousand displaced as the tanks roll into the West Bank where there is no Hamas and no hostages. Talking about hostages, Israel scored the biggest PR own goal this week as hostage Omer Shem Tov kissed not one but two Hamas soldiers on the head. This after he gave a thumbs up to a crowd and smiled broadly. Because of this, BB violated the ceasefire agreement again. This is twice in one week. We also witnessed the horrific display of two Israeli children’s coffins and watched timelines filled with orange hearts for the two ginger-haired littlies.

I’ve run out of words but I will wrap this up by telling you to check out our weekly video where we count the number of times Trump and Macron touch each other during their meeting about the Ukraine. It’s funny and it will cheer you up. Unlike the news that #RobertaFlack passed and that #GeneHackman, his wife and his dog were all found dead yesterday. No foul play is suspected. Unlike the rest of my column.

Please take the weekend off and bump fists with a person of colour. Say #NotInMyName and keep taking care of each other. And for those of you who want to join the circus, please take a form and remember your black pen.

I’m Tonya Khoury and thank you for scratching the surface with me and Acumen Media.