South Africa: US President Trump tweet based on false information

epaselect epa06300134 US President Donald J. Trump attends a meeting on tax policy with business leaders in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 31 October 2017. EPA-EFE/MICHAEL REYNOLDS

South Africa’s Foreign Minister Lindiwe Sisulu is set to meet officials from the US embassy in Pretoria in the wake of a tweet from President Donald Trump about the country’s land reform programme.

Mr Trump said he wants Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to look into “farm seizures” and the “large scale killing of farmers”.

In a statement, Ms Sisulu described the comments as “unfortunate” adding that “it is regrettable that the tweet is based on false information”.

The leader of the radical EFF opposition party, Julius Malema has also commented on Mr Trump’s tweet, calling him a “pathological liar”.

#EFFMediaBriefing Malema: Be that as it may, we must put it on record, unequivocally, that Donald “the pathological liar” Trump, we are not scared of you and your USA or Western imperialist forces.

— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) 23 August 2018