Pieter Kriel: Biography, Age, Activist, Girlfriend

Pieter Kriel (born 2 March 2004) is a South African political and human rights activist, social media commentator and writer. He is known for his provocative, left-leaning views on race, privilege, equality, decolonisation, and South African politics, often challenging conservative Afrikaner narratives.

Biography: Pieter Kriel

Real Name: Pieter Adriaan Kriel

Place of Birth: Heidelberg, Gauteng, South Africa

Date of Birth: 2 March 2004 (Age - 22)

Occupation: Political and Human Rights Activist, Writer

Years Active: 2018 to present

Parents: Lemont Kriel and Ramona Mears, David Schalk Pelzer (step-father)

Political Views: Pan-Africanist, Humanist, Decolonisation

Nationality: South African

Early Life and Education

Pieter Adriaan Kriel was born on the 2nd of March 2004 in a small town of Heidelberg in Gauteng, South Africa. He was born to Lemont Kriel and Ramona Mears. He was raised by his stepfather, David Schalk Pelzer who died in January 2024.

He attended Hoër Volkskool in Heidelberg. While in school at age 14, Pieter lost faith in religion and God and became an atheist after questioning the current norms,politics, believes and systems. He started developing interest in politics, philosophy, decolonisation and social justice.

To express his belief, Pieter Kriel started joining school protests, including when black students protested against racist laws disallowing them to have hairstyle of their choice. He got lot of criticism from white peers and teachers for being a traitor.

“Some of the African kids were not allowed to express their desired hairstyles, and I took offence to that… got a lot of backlash for that. I was called a traitor.” said Pieter Kriel to Eye Witness.

On top of that, Pieter loved sports and was an athlet from high school. He also began creating online content as a teenager, initially posting videos about computer games, magic, and athletics on YouTube.

Activism and Political Views

Kriel gained prominence in his late teens and early 20s through TikTok, X (Twitter) and Facebook where he shares rapid commentary on race, justice, and current affairs. As of 2025, he had built a significant following of hundreds of thousands on TikTok and Facebook. He also writes articles and has a Gumroad site for his work.

He began identifies as a humanist as early as 2018 when he was 14 years old. He looked up to the late Thomas Sankara, Steve Biko, Christopher Hitchens and George Orwell. Pieter Kriel enjoys Karl Marx’s ideas, but denied being a Marxist. In early 2020s, he started advocating for equality, African integration, wealth redistribution, post-nationalism and decolonisation both mental and otherwise.

“I don’t believe you have to be a person of colour, a Black person or necessarily African by race to believe in African unity.” he said talking to EyeWitness News.

In 2025 when Donald Trump accused South Africa of white genocide, and gave refuge to 49 white Afrikaners, Kriel opposed Trump’s rhetoric of white genocide. According to Kriel, he accused the white Afrikaners of running away from equality rather than persecution. His comments on Afrikaners moving to the US as refugees sparked major controversy, death threats, and family estrangement. He has said they were fleeing “equality”.

In July 2025, he visited the occupied Palestinian territories like West Bank areas like Bethlehem. He documented the conditions and drawing parallels to apartheid-era South Africa. This drew both support and criticism such as accusations of “white privilege”. He aims to build a grassroots, youth-driven Pan-African humanist movement focused on justice and unity, and has expressed ambitions in advocacy, writing, and potentially broader leadership.

Religous Views

Kriel was born a Christian, but he now identifies as an atheist and humanist. He has explored various religious traditions such aspects of Orthodox Judaism at times, though he later clarified he is not Jewish. He loves to visit different religious setups and beliefs for the sake of learning different cultures, not seeking to join those belief systems.

Personal Life

Pieter Kriel is in a relationship with his girlfriend who simply identifies herself by the name Desire on social media.  He is based in the Johannesburg where he continues to do his activism work.