He emphasized that while South Africa allows for a broad range of political expression, the statements in the video do not reflect the policies of his government.
“What you saw—the speeches that were being made—that is not government policy,” Ramaphosa explained.
“We have a multi-party democracy… And in many cases, those [extreme] policies do not align with government policy.”
“Our government policy is completely, completely against what he [a person in the video] was saying—even in parliament.
And they are a small minority party which is allowed to exist in terms of our constitution.”
A Tense But Civil Meeting
Despite the awkward moment, Ramaphosa later told reporters that the overall meeting went “very well” and stressed that he reiterated his government’s stance clearly.
