AfriForum and Solidarity have been lobbying the US government to punish members of President Cyril Ramaphosa's party

South African police have launched an investigation into "high treason" claims against Afrikaner minority lobby groups AfriForum and Solidarity, which are accused of spreading false information to the US government about a recently passed land ownership law.

Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) chief Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya told local media on Tuesday that authorities are examining four separate dockets targeting specific entities but declined to name them.

Earlier, the DPCI chief said in an interview with state broadcaster SABC that the cases "concern individuals that may have crossed the border to go and communicate some of the things that are perceived to be in the direction of high treason." 

"High treason consists of the unlawful engagement in any conduct within or outside the borders of... South Africa by a person owing allegiance to the republic, with the intention to overthrow the government... violate, threaten, or endanger the existence, independence, or security of the republic," Lebeya said in another interview with Newzroom Afrika.

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He added that the National Prosecuting Authority will determine whether any of the complaints contain elements of treason.

Political parties, including former South African leader Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), filed complaints against AfriForum and Solidarity after US President Donald Trump cut aid to Pretoria, accusing it of disregarding the rights of a "certain class" of citizens.

Trump accused the African country's government of confiscating agricultural properties belonging to the Afrikaners - white South Africans - without compensation under the newly adopted expropriation law.

Pretoria has insisted that the law is intended to address racial disparities in land ownership in a country where white farmers still own the majority of land decades after Apartheid ended in 1994.

AfriForum has lobbied against the legislation in the US and through media campaigns, claiming it violates property rights. Last week, AfriForum and Solidarity leaders met with US officials at the White House and urged Washington to impose sanctions on the African National Congress (ANC) rather than punishing "ordinary South Africans" with the suspension of financial assistance.

The two non-profit civil rights organizations have accused the ANC, headed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, of irresponsible policies and statements that encourage discrimination and genocide against Afrikaners and other minorities.

Afrikaners are descendants of European colonists, mostly from the Netherlands, who arrived in what would become modern South Africa in the 17th century.