Minister Lamola challenges US Secretary Marco Rubio's claims on Afrikaner persecution ahead of G20 Summit

South Africa’s 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.

The exchange on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) 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. IOL reported on Saturday that Trump insisted that his administration would not send officials to the G20 in Joburg. 

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.

Rubio echoes Trump’s allegations

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.”

Lamola fires back with data

Lamola hit back on the same platform, writing: “Claims of a ‘white genocide’ or its euphemism, Afrikaner persecution, are imagined and used for political expediency. Data does not support the narrative. From April 2020 to March 2024: 225 people were victims of crime on farms in South Africa, according to the police. Many of the victims, 101 were current or former workers living on farms, who are mostly black. 53 of the victims were farmers, mostly white.

South Africa's former justice minister continued: "We continue to fight crime in all its manifestations. We will host a very successful G20, thank you for your kind attention on this matter.”

Lamola’s post marks Pretoria’s pointed response to the farm-killing claims being circulated by American political figures. It also highlights the deepening diplomatic rift between Washington and Pretoria, which in recent years have clashed over issues ranging from South Africa’s stance on China, Russia and Gaza to its criticism of Western foreign policy.

Analysts warn of wider diplomatic fallout

Observers say the timing of the exchange, days before world leaders gather for the G20 in Johannesburg, underlines how domestic US politics are once again shaping international perceptions of South Africa — a dynamic Pretoria has grown increasingly frustrated with.

On Saturday, IOL reported that a former South African ambassador and seasoned diplomat believes the United States will send its officials from the embassy in Pretoria to attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg later this month.

Former South African ambassador to Portugal, Dr Kingsley Makhubela, on Saturday told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that US embassy officials, if they attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg, will raise objections that could affect the overall outcome of the event.

Makhubela was reacting to news that President Donald Trump has announced that no US official will attend the G20 summit hosted by South Africa.

“I think he meant to say no one will come from Washington to attend this meeting. I have always held a view that (US Vice President) JD Vance won’t be coming because if you look at their objections to this meeting, it is embedded in what is going to be discussed during this G20. That has to do with solidarity, diversity, and interdependence of the world, which they are very much opposed to,” said Makhubela.

“What they are likely to do, and I think they will do, is to send an official from the embassy to attend because the decisions that are taken there (at the G20 summit) are taken by consensus.

“So the official at the meeting will keep on saying I have instructions from Washington not to accept this paragraph, I have instructions from Washington that this paragraph must be added. So it will be very difficult to reach a consensus document that will come out of the G20,” he said.

jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za

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