A viral image of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi being carried on the shoulders of his pals Eben Etzebeth and RG Snyman has become a meme over allegations of “white genocide” in South Africa, as perpetuated by US President Donald Trump.
This comes as the US President has vowed to boycott the G20 Summit, which is being held in Johannesburg next week.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that white South Africans are being “racially persecuted”, a claim that the government has debunked. In February, he signed an Executive Order enabling the racial minority – particularly Afrikaners – to access its refugee resettlement programme.
SPRINGBOKS PIC BECOMES ‘WHITE GENOCIDE’ MEME
On the X platform, an image featuring three Springboks have become a meme referencing US President Trump’s claims of a “white genocide”.
In the picture, Captain Siya Kolisi is seen being carried on the shoulders of his peers and pals, Eben Etzebeth and RG Snyman.
The image was taken after Siya celebrated his 100th test cap milestone in France over the weekend. Both RG and Eben are Afrikaners, while Siya is a Xhosa black South African.
X user @Derekepping joked: “Terrible things are happening in South Africa. They make Afrikaner people carry them on their shoulders. And they make them smile though it”.
Another, @ZakesMda, tagged Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He sarcastically added: “Not only do they cook Afrikaner people for breakfast, they use them as beasts of burden as they take them to slaughterhouses”.
TRUMP: ‘AFRIKANERS ARE BEING SLAUGHTERED’
Last week, President Trump announced that he would not be attending the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, scheduled to take place from 22 to 23 November.
He shared on his social media platform, Truth Social: “It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa.
“Afrikaners (people who are descended from Dutch settlers, and also French and German immigrants) are being killed and slaughtered. And their land and farms are being illegally confiscated.
“No US government official will attend as long as these human rights abuses continue.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed the president, tweeting on X: “Afrikaners have been continuously subjected to violent racial discrimination by the South African government.
“I applaud @POTUS’s decision to not waste taxpayer dollars sending our diplomats to the G20 while this heinous violence continues”
‘NO WHITE GENOCIDE’ SAYS DIRCO
Meanwhile, International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) minister Ronald Lamola responded to the commentary surrounding South Africa and the G20 Summit, posting on his X platform, “Claims of a ‘white genocide’ or its euphemism, Afrikaner persecution, are imagined and used for political expediency.
Lamola went on to provide data that supported the claims.
He added, “We continue to fight crime in all its manifestations. We will host a very successful G20, thank you for your kind attention on this matter”.
