South Africa’s finance minister slams Trump’s genocide claims ahead of G20

South Africa’s finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, has rejected United States President Donald Trump’s false claims of a genocide being carried out against White Afrikaners.

“South Africa has been falsely accused of genocide against its white community and threatened with punitive sanctions based on falsehood,” said Godongwana.

He was speaking on Wednesday as he delivered the medium-term budget update just days after Trump said his nation would boycott the upcoming G20 summit in Johannesburg.

In a post on social media, Trump cited widely rejected claims that members of the minority group are being persecuted and having their land taken from them because of their race.

The US president has for months targeted South Africa’s coalition government for criticism over that and a range of other issues.

This includes Pretoria’s decision to accuse Washington’s ally, Israel, of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza in a highly contentious case at the United Nations’ top court.

Godongwana accused Washington of spreading fear and misinformation, while praising Afrikaner groups who publicly rejected Trump’s remarks as unpatriotic propaganda.

The government and numerous Afrikaner and other groups and organisations in the country have repeatedly refuted Trump’s allegations.

South Africa will host the G20 summit on 22-23 November.