South African government claps back at Trump's 'misinformed' tweets
A spokeswoman for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Donald Trump was "misinformed" about the nation's planned land reforms after the US President tweeted that land had been seized from white farmers.
Quoting Fox News, overnight Trump alleged on Twitter that the South African government was seizing land from white farmers.
"South Africa totally rejects this narrow perception which only seeks to divide our nation and reminds us of our colonial past," the government said.
Land ownership has been a divisive issue in South Africa for some time now, with 72% of land being in the hands of white farmers, according to the Land Audit Report, despite Caucasians making up just 8% of the African country.
On 1 August, Ramaphosa announced that the African National Congress would look to change the constitution in order to allow the expropriation of land without compensation almost 25 years after the end of apartheid.
Trump echoed controversial and contested claims made by South African farmers that they were particularly vulnerable to violence. However, according to research by one of the biggest farmers' organisations in South Africa, such murders are at a 20-year low
"The presidency has noted Trump's tweet, which is misinformed in our view," said spokeswoman Khusela Diko. "We will take up the matter through diplomatic channels."