Washington DC - President Donald Trump on Sunday targeted South Africa, accusing it of "confiscating" land and "treating certain classes of people very badly" as he announced he was cutting off all future funding to the country pending an investigation.

The land issue in South Africa has long been divisive, with efforts to redress the injustices of white supremacy and apartheid drawing criticism from far-right figures, among them Pretoria-born Elon Musk, Trump's billionaire ally.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last month signed a bill that stipulates the government may, in certain circumstances, offer "nil compensation" for property it decides to expropriate in the public interest.

"South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

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"I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!" Trump wrote.

Later, in a briefing with journalists, Trump said that South Africa's "leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things" without giving examples.

"So that's under investigation right now. We'll make a determination, and until such time as we find out what South Africa is doing – they're taking away land and confiscating land, and actually they're doing things that are perhaps far worse than that."

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa outright rejected Trump's "confiscation" claims on Monday.

The Expropriation Act is not a "confiscation instrument" but a "constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures public access to land in an equitable and just manner," Ramaphosa's statement said.

The government says the new act does not allow authorities to expropriate property arbitrarily and efforts must always first be made to reach an agreement with the owner.

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"We look forward to engaging with the Trump administration over our land reform policy and issues of bilateral interest," the president's statement said.

Land ownership is a contentious issue in South Africa, with most farmland still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid.

South Africa's 1913 Natives Land Act saw thousands of Black families forcibly removed from their land by the apartheid regime.

The issue has been a particular rallying point for the far right and white supremacists, with various conservative figures including Musk championing the cause of white land-owners.

Billionaire Peter Thiel – another Trump supporter with extremist views – also lived in southern Africa, including for a time in Namibia, which was then controlled by Pretoria.

He has previously been accused of supporting the apartheid system, that violently subjugated the Black majority of South Africa to uphold white rule and economic control, something a spokesman denied on his behalf.