Trump rehashes 'white genocide' claims
TENSIONS: Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump
Image: File
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) and the Presidency have contradicted each other over the acceptance of a new designated ambassador to the US, Roelf Meyer, as President Donald Trump continues with his claims of a “white genocide” taking place in South Africa.
While Ramaphosa has expressed confidence that the US will accept Meyer's credentials, noting that South Africa accepted the credentials of Trump’s envoy, Leo Brent Bozell III, the process remains a point of tension.
This is after Trump reiterated that a “genocide” is occurring in South Africa, claiming white people are being targeted and killed for their race.
The US President made these claims during a Turning Point USA rally in Phoenix on Friday. He described the situation as a “horrible thing”.
Trump, who used social media, added that his administration suspended most global refugee resettlement except for persecuted white South Africans.
The South African government has repeatedly dismissed these claims, saying there is no evidence of genocide or racially targeted killings of white farmers, and that crime in the country affects people across all communities.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula also dismissed these claims as “unsubstantiated”, “lies”, and “racist tropes” designed to paint Black South Africans as “savages”.
This comes days after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Meyer as the designated ambassador to the US.
Meyer is a veteran negotiator famous for working alongside Ramaphosa in the 1990s. His appointment is seen as a strategic move to stabilise and improve diplomatic ties with Washington following a turbulent year.
Despite this, Trump continues to repeat widely discredited claims of a “white genocide” in South Africa.
Asked if the US would accept Meyer’s credentials despite the current diplomatic tensions, Dirco spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said this was the expectation.
“It goes without saying. We expect that the emissary President will be accepted in the host country,” he said.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said the Presidency did not have a comment except to describe the suggestion as “being speculative”.