United States ambassador to SA Leo Brent Bozell is embroiled in his first diplomatic spat with the Union Buildings, just a few months after arriving in the country.
This comes after Bozell was “demarched” to Pretoria over his “undiplomatic remarks” about SA and its president.
International and co-operation minister Ronald Lamola, who rapped Bozell over the knuckles along with the department’s director-general Zane Dangor, said they would continue to monitor Bozell’s public remarks and conduct.
Lamola warned that they would not hesitate to take further action against the controversial American figure, should there be no improvement in his conduct following their meeting with him on Wednesday.
Bozell, who was nominated by US President Donald Trump to be his new ambassador to Pretoria in December 2025, sparked a diplomatic furore after launching a stinging attack on Pretoria.
Trump stunned all when he nominated Bozell to represent his administration in SA, despite his history of working against the anti-apartheid movement in the 1980s.
Addressing a gathering of Biznews in Hermanus in the Western Cape on Tuesday, Bozell said the US was losing patience with SA over its non-response to the “five asks that they were confronted with by Washington more than a year ago.
These include a review of the Expropriation Act, the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, condemning the “kill the boer” chant, prioritising farm murder to protect white farmers and for SA to be non-aligned in geo-politics.
However, this only served to draw a sharp rebuke of Bozell, with a demarche to Pretoria where he was read the diplomatic riot act. Dangor said during their meeting, Bozell “apologised and expressed regret”.
But Lamola was more direct, pointing out that Bozell’s conduct in Hermanus was at variance with the attitude he had displayed at their initial meeting shortly after his arrival in the country.
“In the initial meetings there was positive and constructive engagement that was aimed towards bridging these difficult relations that are now happening between us and the US. So, we had given a benefit of doubt, with one sole aim: to bridge the gap of communication between the two countries.
“And it is also within that context that he was demarched here to engage ‘remember our meeting, our engagements’, but these remarks are not in line with the commitment you have made and we have (also) made. It is going to deteriorate the relationship which we want to build. And there is no other way of bridging relations when things are difficult other than to engage with those that do not agree with you.”
Lamola said while SA continued to regard the US as a strategic trade and economic power, that did not give Bozell any right to run amok.
“But this does not mean that he must act in an undiplomatic way. We will continue to monitor his comments and act appropriately, and accordingly, if there are no improvements in the engagements. We expect that with this engagement that we have had with him, we will return to reset (what we had) when he arrived.”
Turning to the situation in the Middle East, Lamola said SA was worried about the “escalation” of tensions there following the ongoing war between the US, Iran and Israel.
“We continue to be ‘seized’ with this matter. I have had calls with my counterparts in the GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) states to express solidarity with them on the account of what is happening in the region.
“The SA government is monitoring the situation with concern that the conflict has resulted in the destruction of civilian infrastructure across the region. This has also resulted in inflationary pressures, energy insecurity, and food insecurity as a result of the fertiliser shocks in the agricultural sector.
“SA reiterates its condemnation for the violation of Article 2.4 of the UN charter by the US and Israel, and the subsequent action of the Iranian government which through their response also violated the provisions of Article 51 and breached the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the GCC states; in particular where there was no evidence that the first strike by the US and Israel came from the GCC countries.
“The United Nations security council now, more than ever, is called upon to prioritise humanity over geo-political preferences. This is an existential moment for multilateralism.”
TimesLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.