05/21/2025May 21, 2025
Ramaphosa insists ‘there is no genocide’ after Trump meeting
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa insisted that, contrary to claims made by his US counterpart Donald Trump, there is “no genocide in South Africa.”
The issue, which has been central to recently , was dramatically brought up during the encounter in the Oval Office.
Speaking at a press conference after meeting with Trump at the White House, Ramaphosa said “there is just no genocide in South Africa.”
During the tense scenes, Ramaphosa and members of his delegation repeatedly denied that minority white South Africans were facing deadly violence and persecution.
The South African delegation did however acknowledge that violent crime is serious issue in their country, while pointing out that the majority of victims are Black.
Despite the tension on display, Ramaphosa said his government would continue holding talks with the Trump administration on a range of issues, including trade and industry, and that they had held “really good in-depth exchanges.”
“I was rather pleased that there is a firm agreement and undertaking that we are going to continue engaging. So there is no disengagement. For us that was one of the key outcomes,” the South African leader said.
He also said he wants to boost the South African economy with US investments, which he said would help tackle the security issues in his nation.
Ramaphosa also mentioned the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which gives certain African nations duty-free access to the US market.
The initiative is due to expire in September, and there have been .
The South African leader said discussions on extending AGOA would continue.
After the Oval Office meeting, the delegations met for a working lunch, which Ramaphosa said was also attended by Trump ally, South African-born billionaire Elon Musk.
Ramaphosa told the press conference that Musk had raised the issue of his Tesla electric cars being made available for sale in South Africa.
The South African president also said that use of Starlink — the satellite internet service owned by Musk’s SpaceX — was not discussed during the lunch.
The post Trump confronts South Africa’s Ramaphosa with genocide claim appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
