Lamola challenges US claims of Afrikaner persecution

INTERNATIONAL Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola has publicly challenged claims by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Afrikaners are being racially persecuted, describing the allegations as politically motivated and unsupported by formal data.

- JONISAYI MAROMO

This comes in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s announcement that no American officials would attend next week’s G20 summit in South Africa.

Trump claimed that “Afrikaners are being slaughtered’, accusing Pretoria of turning a blind eye to violence against white farmers. His remarks drew sharp criticism from South African officials and analysts, who dismissed them as inflammatory and inaccurate.

Building on Trump’s comments, Rubio wrote on X: “Afrikaners have been continuously subjected to violent racial discrimination by the South African government. I applaud @POTUS's decision to not waste taxpayer dollars sending our diplomats to the G20 while this heinous violence continues.”