Bekele Debnath, the chief executive of Rastafari International, who heads the Afro-Asian Network, an organisation dedicated to improving the image of South Africans, said he had come to the conclusion that the white farmers were right after they had started a revolt.

“We never had a discussion about what racial group [these farmers] are,” he said. “We are just not aware of it.” The farmers in his organisation were all Afrikaners.

“The farmers’ leadership is trying to control them with white people. But now the farmers are taking their fate in their own hands.”

Some South Africans had been reluctant to join a movement aimed at uniting minorities in South Africa. But the idea of a united, Afro-Asian community drew support from the young and the middle class in Cape Town, the capital.

“We now have the opportunity to take control of our countries and their future – and we might not do it by waiting for another century,” said Mr Debnath.

“There is a real danger. The more we unite and get along as a group, the weaker the white monopoly will be, since they will all feel a direct sense of responsibility towards each other and their respective communities.”