Senegalese-American music star Akon has stirred controversy after suggesting that tech billionaire Elon Musk is advocating for white South Africans because they live in worse conditions than their Black counterparts.
Speaking during a recent episode of the American podcast Bagfuel Brigade, the ‘Locked Up’ crooner weighed in on the contentious issue of land ownership and racial inequality in South Africa. According to Akon, Alon Musk, a South African-born entrepreneur and head of the U.S. The Department of Government Efficiency is fighting for the white minority due to perceived economic and social disadvantages they now face.
“In South Africa, white people don’t have it as good as white people have in America. South Africa is probably the one place in Africa that was able to switch the table where the white folks live in the hood and the black people are living good. This is why Elon Musk is fighting for those white folks in South Africa,” Akon said.
“He feels like they are being mistreated and there is no equality. White folks are fighting for equality in South Africa because Blacks are the majority. Blacks in South Africa are united, if all the other [African] countries do that, we will be the superpower of the universe,” he added.
Musk had earlier raised alarms about what he called “racist ownership laws” in South Africa, accusing the government of enabling a “genocide” against white farmers. His comments followed the passage of the controversial Expropriation Act by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration in January 2025. The new law permits land expropriation occasionally without compensation, in cases of public interest or underutilization.
However, Akon’s claims are inconsistent with existing data. According to the World Bank (2022), white South Africans earn nearly three times more than Black South Africans on average. Despite the fall of apartheid three decades ago, white farmers still control roughly 75% of the land, while making up just 7% of the population.
