Magwenya, Mbalula fire back at Trump’s renewed ‘white genocide’ claims

Donald Trump

Pretoria – Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya has rejected US President Donald Trump’s renewed claims that white farmers are being targeted in a “genocide” in South Africa.

Speaking at a rally in Arizona on Friday, Trump said his administration had allowed “persecuted South Africans” into the US, alleging they were victims of killings based on race.

He linked the claim to what he described as a “horrible genocide”, despite there being no credible evidence or official crime data supporting such assertions.

“We stopped third-world migration. We suspended all refugee resettlement except for persecuted South Africans. They’re being persecuted in South Africa.

There’s a very horrible thing going on in South Africa. It’s a genocide. It’s a horrible thing. And we made it possible for these people to come into our country. They kill people if they’re white. If you’re a white person,” Trump said.

Crime statistics in South Africa do not support the allegation, which Trump has repeatedly referenced in speeches since his re-election.

In response, Magwenya said South Africa remained “rational and undeterred”, adding that the country was “owning our truth as we own our destiny”.

“We know our painful past too well. As we appreciate our present moment, we are defining our future, owning our truth as we own our destiny. We are rational and undeterred,” he said.

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula strongly condemned the remarks, calling them a “subtle message that black people are savages who kill with impunity” and insisting there is “no genocide against white people in South Africa”.

He said Trump’s claims amounted to “distortion, disinformation, and racist branding”, adding that he would continue to challenge the narrative whenever it is raised.

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