Front National leader says whites in South Africa ‘only have five years left’

Hannes Engelbrecht says more than 95,000 white South Africans have emigrated in four years

Hannes Engelbrecht (L) leader of the Front National party, speaks to the media on April 24, 2014 as he lodges a land claim on behalf of the old Boer Republics in Pretoria (AFP/Getty)

The leader of the far-right Front National in South Africa has said the country’s white population “only have five years left” before they disappear entirely.

Hannes Engelbrecht said new official figures showed more than 95,000 white South Africans emigrated in the four years up to June 2015.

His party, which was formed in 2013 as the spiritual successor to the Federale Vryheidsparty, campaigns for self-determination for Afrikaners, white South Africans tracing their heritage back to Dutch settlers.

According to Times Live, Mr Engelbrecht described the formation of the first African National Congress party under Nelson Mandela in 1994 as a “sellout” of white rights.

Front National has previously applied to the Pretoria Land Commissioner for large swathes of government land to be returned to the “Dutch South African Nation”.

His party gained just over 5,000 votes in total at the 2014 general election, comprising roughly 0.03 per cent of the vote.

Speaking on Tuesday, he said of the new emigration figures: “It means that close to a million whites have already sought their livelihood outside the third world country in western countries; and the trend is continuing.”

He said that during the same period more than one million “blacks from Africa” and more than 40,000 “Asians” had arrived in the country, “making it impossible for the remaining whites to maintain their demographic rights”.

“I honestly believe we only have five years left,” he said. “If white South Africans don’t put their money and votes into the ideal of self-determination now‚ the sell-out of 1994 will be complete.

“This bodes ill for South Africa as a whole. It is fast turning into a typical third world African country that will never be able to return to normality with such an influx of foreigners and exit of skilled people.”