Mnangagwa silent as South Africa faces Donald Trump’s G20 exclusion threat

HARARE – Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has remained silent as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa comes under direct attack from U.S. President Donald Trump over the 2026 G20 Summit, a silence that has drawn attention given Ramaphosa’s past political support for Mnangagwa during Zimbabwe’s own period of international scrutiny.

In 2023, Ramaphosa travelled to Harare to attend Mnangagwa’s inauguration at a time when the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union, and other international observer missions had criticised Zimbabwe’s elections for failing to meet constitutional and democratic standards.

His presence, described then as an act of solidarity, attracted criticism from opposition parties in South Africa but was welcomed by Zimbabwe’s ruling establishment.

Now, however, as Ramaphosa faces public accusations, punitive threats, and diplomatic pressure from Washington, neither Mnangagwa nor his government has issued a statement of support.

Diplomatic analysts noted that Trump’s stance could test both regional solidarity and the continent’s relationship with the United States.

On Wednesday, the U.S. President claimed South Africa had “refused to hand off the G20 Presidency” to a U.S. representative and repeated the long-discredited allegation that South Africans are “killing white people” and allowing their farms to be seized.

Trump announced that he would bar South Africa from next year’s G20 Summit in Miami and halt all payments or subsidies to the country.

In response, the South African Presidency dismissed the remarks as “regrettable” and “misinformed,” emphasising that South Africa is a sovereign constitutional democracy and that its place in the G20 is recognised by all member states.

Pretoria explained that the U.S. government had voluntarily chosen not to attend the 2025 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, and that G20 instruments were properly transferred to a U.S. Embassy representative in accordance with diplomatic protocol.

South Africa added that the 2025 summit was widely praised by attending leaders as “one of the most successful” in recent years, noting progress on inequality, climate pressures, and global economic stability.

It also stressed that South Africa “does not appreciate insults” regarding its legitimacy in global forums.

“South Africa is a sovereign constitutional democratic country and does not appreciate insults from another country about its worth in participating in global platforms. South Africa will never insult another country or its standing in the community of nations,” South Africa noted.

Trump’s comments drew strong condemnation from several international commentators including Zimbabweans.

Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin’ono called the U.S. President “a deranged man” and accused him of promoting racist narratives, urging African leaders to unite behind South Africa.

“South Africa is Africa’s biggest economy, and if Donald Trump bans South Africa from next year’s G20, he will simply have shown all right-thinking people that he is a consummate racist who peddles lies about a nonexistent white genocide.

“He is a mad racist, a political lunatic voted into power by a constituency that was fed on fear, ignorance and manufactured stories.

“Sadly, some of Africa’s leaders are house negroes who have no spine to unite around South Africa and send a strong, unapologetic message that Africa, and South Africa in particular, will not be bullied by this political clown.

“It is embarrassing that at a time when the continent needs courage and solidarity, a few leaders still behave like timid servants begging for approval instead of standing firm for African dignity and sovereignty,” Chin’ono wrote on his X handle.

Political activist Treasure Basopo described Trump’s remarks as “overflowing naked bullying mentality” and called on the African Union and the broader Global South to take a collective stance should South Africa be excluded from the 2026 summit.

“This overflowing naked bullying mentality activated in attitudes, talk and practice is an utter display of the middle finger by the so called Citadel of Democracy, the Land of Liberty to poorer countries of this world and global organisations,” Basopo stated.

“Seeking to bar the presence of South Africa as a participant is an unbridled and reckless display, not just of a Supremacist mentality but Racism and Segregationist attitudes which have carried and survived many developed nations to date.

“Institutions and policies that dominate the global governance architecture are exactly summarized by Mr Trump’s apartheidist, racist, supremacist, naive yet genuine and innocent statement,” Basopo warned.