New U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Lands in Pretoria
Leo Brent Bozell III, a conservative writer and activist nominated by President Donald Trump last March and confirmed by the Senate in December, is expected to formally present his credentials to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa within days, officially activating his mandate.
The post had remained vacant since former ambassador Reuben Brigety stepped down in 2025 following months of turbulence triggered by his public claims that Pretoria had transferred weapons to Russia — allegations that set off a cascade of deteriorating relations. Tensions escalated sharply in March 2025 when Washington declared South Africa's ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, persona non grata after he publicly lambasted US foreign policy.
The diplomatic rupture has been compounded by Pretoria's close ties with Moscow and Beijing, its genocide lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and US accusations that South Africa has failed to protect its white minority farming community — charges Pretoria has consistently and forcefully denied.
At his Senate confirmation hearing last October, Bozell signaled both conciliation and confrontation, vowing he will serve "with respect for the South African people" while advancing the administration's priorities.
He has since pledged to challenge South Africa's "geostrategic drift from non-alignment" toward US "competitors, including Russia, China and Iran." He also said he will "press" Pretoria to end its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and "pressure" the prosecutor to discontinue what he described as "lawfare."
South Africa has been among Israel's fiercest critics since the Gaza conflict erupted in October 2023. In November of that year, Pretoria joined several allied nations in referring Israel's military conduct in Gaza to the International Criminal Court, followed a month later by its separate genocide filing at the ICJ. Israel has strongly denied the allegations.
The appointment has already drawn sharp rebukes domestically in South Africa. In March, South African lawmaker Nqobile Mhlongo told media that Trump's appointment of Bozell is intended to "provoke" Pretoria, adding that South Africa is "not a satellite state of the US" and cannot be pressured to surrender its sovereign policy decisions.
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