 "President Donald Trump with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at White House. Reuters File")
South Africa has condemned US President Donald Trump’s decision to bar it from G20 events in the United States next year, describing the move as “punitive” and based on “misinformation and distortions” about the country.
According to a Guardian report, South Africa’s presidency in a statement said Trump’s comments were “regrettable” and emphasised that the country is a sovereign constitutional democracy whose G20 membership is recognised by all other members.
“South Africa … will never insult or demean another country … It is regrettable that despite the efforts and numerous attempts by President Ramaphosa and his administration to reset the diplomatic relationship with the US, President Trump continues to apply punitive measures against South Africa,” the statement said.
Trump announced the move on his Truth Social platform, repeating widely discredited claims that South Africa is “killing white people” and accusing the country of refusing to hand over the G20 Presidency to a US Embassy representative at the summit’s closing ceremony in Johannesburg last weekend.
“At the conclusion of the G20, South Africa refused to hand off the G20 Presidency to a Senior Representative from our U.S. Embassy, who attended the Closing Ceremony. Therefore, at my direction, South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20, which will be hosted in the Great City of Miami, Florida next year,” Trump posted.
He added, “South Africa has demonstrated to the World they are not a country worthy of Membership anywhere, and we are going to stop all payments and subsidies to them, effective immediately.”
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This follows Trump’s earlier decision in February to halt aid to South Africa, accusing the government of discriminating against white minority Afrikaners, inciting violence against white farmers, and expropriating land — claims South Africa has repeatedly rejected.
Officials have pointed out that land expropriation is limited and that the country’s high crime rate affects all citizens, regardless of race.
After the US boycotted the G20 leaders summit —the first in Africa — and other G20 events in South Africa, it demanded the presidency be handed over to its acting ambassador at the closing ceremony.
South Africa rejected the request, saying it would breach protocol for President Ramaphosa to symbolically hand over the presidency to a “junior” diplomat.
The country hailed the summit as a success for multilateralism, noting the leaders’ communique emphasized tackling climate change and gender inequality — issues at odds with Trump’s administration.
Trump’s claims on Afrikaners
Trump and US officials have continued to repeat false claims about South Africa’s treatment of Afrikaners. In May, the US began offering refugee status to white South Africans while halting other refugee arrivals.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday: “The United States did not attend the G20 in South Africa, because the South African Government refuses to acknowledge or address the horrific Human Right Abuses endured by Afrikaners, and other descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers.
“To put it more bluntly, they are killing white people, and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them.”
In reality, South African police recorded 12 farm murders in the last quarter of 2024 —including black-owned smallholder plots — out of nearly 7,000 murders nationwide.
Land restitution remains limited, with private ownership still concentrated among the white minority, and only a handful of cases returned to black owners after lengthy legal processes.
With inputs from agencies