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South Africa summons US diplomat over Trump accusations

US president claimed 'large-scale' murder of white farmers underway in South Africa after watching Fox News

SOUTH Africa summoned US charge d’affaires Jessye Lapenn today to express anger at President Donald Trump’s wild allegations about alleged land seizures and large-scale murders of white farmers.

Mr Trump had tweeted: “I have asked Secretary of State @SecPompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers. South African Government is now seizing land from white farmers.”

His tweet appeared to be based on nothing more substantial than an item on Rupert Murdoch’s widely criticised Fox News channel.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Ms Lapenn that the US president’s slurs were based on “false information” and served “only to polarise debate on this sensitive and crucial matter.”

ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa insisted that Mr Trump’s intervention would not prevent the South African government from implementing its policies on land reform.

“We will continue with our project here in South Africa to make sure that this country belongs to all those who live in it, black and white,” he stressed.

Mr Kodwa accused Mr Trump of not behaving like the leader of a superpower, saying: “He’s a very unconventional president of the biggest country in the world, very influential politically and economically but very reckless.”

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert made no effort to justify Mr Trump’s mass-murder claim.

She did, however, intervene in South Africa’s internal politics, stating: “The expropriation of land without compensation – our position is that would risk sending South Africa down the wrong path.”

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