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The Trump administration warned South Africa of \u201csevere consequences\u201d over what it said was the detention of US government personnel providing humanitarian support to Afrikaners, the latest instance of animosity between the two nations.<\/p>\n
Washington \u201cwill not tolerate such behaviour toward its government officials,\u201d the State Department said in a post on X on Thursday. \u201cWe call on the government of South Africa to take immediate action to bring this situation under control and hold those responsible accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n
South African authorities earlier this week arrested seven Kenyan nationals suspected of illegally processing applications for refugee status in the US, part of a program aimed at admitting White Afrikaners.<\/p>\n
The African nation\u2019s Department of Home Affairs said Wednesday the detainees lacked the required work permits and that previous applications to perform this work in South Africa had been lawfully refused.<\/p>\n
Read: SA finance minister slams Trump\u2019s genocide claim ahead of G20<\/p>\n
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The deportation of the \u201cKenyan nationals by the Department of Home Affairs was conducted in strict accordance with South African immigration law,\u201d the Department of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement Thursday. \u201cOfficial channels have been opened with the United States government to seek clarity on this allegation.\u201d<\/p>\n
It also denied \u201cdoxxing\u201d claims by the US that the officials\u2019 passport information was released. \u201cSouth Africa treats all matters of data security with the utmost seriousness and operates under stringent legal and diplomatic protocols,\u201d it said. \u201cWe categorically reject any suggestion of state involvement in such actions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read: Ramaphosa dismisses criticism of SA\u2019s empowerment laws<\/p>\n
The Trump administration in February began offering White Afrikaners refugee status, after falsely claiming that they are being subjected to a genocide \u2014 a statement President Donald Trump has repeated several time. President Cyril Ramaphosa sought to persuade him to drop the claim during a White House visit in May, only to be confronted with a video montage amplifying the allegations.<\/p>\n
White Afrikaners, among the richest minority groups in the country, claim they are being persecuted under Black-ownership and employment-equity laws intended to address racial inequities that stem from decades of apartheid rule.<\/p>\n
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Relations between South Africa and the US are already fraught. Washington expelled South Africa\u2019s previous ambassador to the US over comments critical of Trump. This month it took the unprecedented step of excluding South Africa from Group of 20 meetings after assuming the presidency from Africa\u2019s largest economy on Dec. 1, inviting non-member Poland instead.<\/p>\n
Read: Trump looks to slash refugee count, will favour Afrikaners<\/p>\n
South Africa\u2019s Department of Home Affairs issued Wednesday\u2019s comments after CNN reported that authorities briefly detained and then released two US government employees who were in the country as part of Trump\u2019s effort to admit Afrikaners.<\/p>\n
The department said no US officials were arrested, the operation wasn\u2019t conducted at a diplomatic site and no members of the public or \u201cprospective refugees\u201d were harassed.<\/p>\n
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