‘The story of white genocide does not exist’ – Lamola

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola has set the record straight about claims that there is white genocide in South Africa against Afrikaners, saying even those making the claims are unable to show evidence of it.

He made the comment at the Council on Foreign Relations event in New York on Wednesday. The purpose of the conversation was to outline plans to improve relations between the US and South Africa.

The genocide claims have strained relations between the two countries, with the most recent development being the US announcing visa restrictions against some South Africans.

No white genocide in SA

Lamola highlighted that South Africa is a democratic country, which has worked “very hard to preserve our unity in diversity, where all colours can live together”.

He said the country continues to build as one nation, and it is unfortunate to be accused of any form of genocide against white Afrikaners.

“And then what we can say to the people of the United States is that the story of white genocide does not exist. It is fake news; it’s not there. There is no evidence to back it.”

Lamola added that even the US ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell III, knows that there is no genocide and “that is why he cannot confirm it even himself on record. He can just speak with ambiguity because he still has to report to Washington, but the reality is that he knows deep in his heart that it doesn’t exist”.

Lamola slams Afrikaner resettlement programme

The minister also expressed his views about the Afrikaner resettlement programme, labelling it as “race-based”.

“It is clearly targeted at those who are only Afrikaners. We have said that [as] the South African government, we do not agree with it because it’s race-based, it’s clear, and there’s no persecution.”

The Afrikaner resettlement programme is a US government initiative launched by the Donald Trump administration in February 2025 that primarily grants refugee status and expedited resettlement to white Afrikaners from South Africa.

Lamola noted that the programme does not fit the UN definition of a refugee. “Even the UN refugee community says this is not a refugee programme, where only the refugees can be processed from the country of origin,” he said.

“Some of them you might have seen in the recent news reports; they do visit South Africa. How can a refugee be on vacation in the country they come from as a refugee?

“So we have said we don’t agree with it, but we will not interfere with the programme because, in terms of our constitution, people have rights and the freedom of movement. If they want to come back to South Africa, they’re welcome.”

SA attempts to mend relations with US

Lamola said the US is a strategic partner to South Africa, adding that many US companies have invested in the country and none have complained about broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE).

“They are in South Africa, operating throughout the African continent, and they’re making money, and they do so with all these laws that they are said to be including companies from the US, and they are making money. They’ve never complained about BEE.

“In fact, we have got what is called the BEE equivalent, which is an innovation that came from the US companies, when companies can still comply with the B-BBEE Act, but on an equivalent basis, some form of social improvements to the various sectors in which they operate.”

Will SA still be part of Agoa?

The minister also touched on fears that the US might exclude it from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which President Donald Trump is yet to sign.

Agoa is a US trade programme that gives eligible sub-Saharan African countries preferential, largely duty-free access to the US market for qualifying products, aiming to boost trade, investment and economic growth.

Lamola said Agoa will mostly operate through local manufacturing, which is key to the entire supply chain, and will play a vital role in supporting South Africa’s job creation.

“So it is a key programme, and we look forward to President Trump signing it. We are concerned because President Trump still has to sign the reauthorisation. So we don’t know what will happen. As you are aware, it’s an unpredictable environment, but we’re glad that Congress has passed it through.”

Xenophobic attacks

Lamola added that the South African government has condemned the attacks on African immigrants, adding that more than 300 people have been arrested for being involved in the attacks.

He also claimed that some of the African immigrants who were killed in the country had nothing to do with xenophobia, saying they were cases of violent crime.

“We have also clarified that what has now also come out as a narrative in some of the African states is that there are individuals, for example, from Nigeria, who were killed as a result of this, and there was no one that was killed from Nigeria during this wave of attacks. There were people who were killed, some from Ghana, but investigations by the police have revealed that it was an act of criminality.

“It has nothing to do with xenophobia. Those who were affected the most by the xenophobic attacks were Malawians, and I think one or two of them, if I’m not mistaken, were killed during the real protests. So the people of the world also have to separate the facts on the matter.”

He noted that South Africa has a challenge of violent crime which affects everyone. “And the majority of those who are affected by violent crime in South Africa are black South Africans.”

SA won’t gatecrash G20

Lamola said Pretoria will not force its way into the G20 meetings and leaders’ summit in December if Washington does offer an invitation. He added that South Africa will also not put pressure on other countries to boycott the forum.

The US is hosting the G20 this year, and Washington has barred South Africa from participating in the bloc’s meetings. This follows Washington’s self-imposed absence when South Africa hosted in 2025.

Lamola also criticised other G20 countries for not speaking out in Pretoria’s defence over being excluded. However, the African Union (AU) previously criticised the US for the move, citing that the gathering of world leaders will not make sense without South Africa.

The G20 is an international forum that brings together the world’s leading advanced and emerging economies to coordinate global policy on trade, climate change and economic stability. Both South Africa and the US are founding members.

“What we will not do is to budge and come uninvited and all that, but also encourage a boycott of some sort. Can the declaration still be called a declaration of the G20 when one of the founding members is not there?”