{"id":877566,"date":"2026-09-30T10:35:50","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T08:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=877566"},"modified":"2026-09-30T10:35:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T08:35:53","slug":"united-states-ambassador-to-south-africa-in-hot-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/877566\/united-states-ambassador-to-south-africa-in-hot-water\/","title":{"rendered":"United States ambassador to South Africa in hot water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has summoned United States Ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell, to answer for his recent criticisms of the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DIRCO confirmed<\/a> to the SABC that it had issued a demarche to Bozell this week\u2014the second one<\/strong><\/a> this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A demarche is a formal political and diplomatic response from one government to another, typically expressing protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move is unsurprising, given Bozell’s recent public statements and op-eds openly criticising the South African government and President Cyril Ramaphosa in particular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bozell has now been called in to explain what DIRCO characterised as “undiplomatic conduct”, the SABC said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US ambassador this week penned a lengthy op-ed<\/a>, in which he called the South African government’s statements about the United States’ diplomatic demands “spin” and untruthful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He outlined the process that he and Washington followed in presenting the so-called “five asks” to Pretoria to restore relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By his account, the “asks” were presented to South Africa in November 2025, and his arrival in February 2026 accelerated discussions around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it was only in September that Ramaphosa delivered a formal response\u2014after 9 months\u2014and it failed to address the United States’ concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This led US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to impose visa sanctions <\/strong><\/a>on targeted South Africans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The South African government’s official response to the matter differs, with officials noting that a comprehensive response was provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has since characterised Bozel and Rubio’s statements as attempts by the United States to remove South Africa’s sovereignty and force the government to bow to its demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bozell was previously demarched in March 2026, after he said he didn’t care what South Africa’s courts had ruled about the “kill the boer” chant, saying it was hate speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He later backtracked on the statement, saying it was a personal view, and that \u201cthe US government respects the independence and findings of South Africa\u2019s judiciary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This same stance will be tested with the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the Expropriation Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The five “asks” and the differing responses are outlined below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask<\/th>US Response<\/th>SA Response<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
That the South African government not interfere with the United States’ processing of Afrikaner refugees<\/td>This has been addressed. <\/td>This has been addressed. <\/td><\/tr>
That expropriation without compensation should not be allowed<\/td>Partly addressed, but not by the government. The matter is with the Constitutional Court, which will have final say.<\/td>The government supports land expropriation without compensation. The matter is with the Constitutional Court, which will have final say.<\/td><\/tr>
That President Ramaphosa and other senior government officials condemn the singing of \u201cKill the Farmer! Kill the Boer!\u201d<\/td>Ramaphosa and the South African government refuse to condemn it. It has not been addressed.<\/td>“South Africa has enacted the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act 16 of 2023. This legislation sets a stringent legal framework for the eradication of hate speech and the prosecution of hate crimes. This law is binding on both the State and non-state actors.”<\/td><\/tr>
That rural crime (ie farm murders) be formally designated a priority crime, with a real, announced plan to address it<\/td>The United States has offered financial support, with several plans available, including one designed by the South African government itself. It has not been addressed.<\/td>“The South African government remains seized with the challenges of crime in South Africa, which affects everyone and not targeting anyone based on their race, colour, or social origin.”<\/td><\/tr>
That South Africa create alternatives, such as equity equivalent investment programs (EEIP) to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) ownership requirements<\/td>The South African government allows some business sectors to participate in EEIP but refuses to offer it to the telecoms or mining industries.<\/td>“It is our sovereign right to put in place laws that address the nation\u2019s concern over centuries of racial injustice.”<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has summoned United States Ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell, to answer for his recent criticisms of the government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":853683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2105215092245536950","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2221548395332226","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18170129755459403","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[6138,25005,10022],"class_list":["post-877566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-dirco","tag-leo-brent-bozell","tag-united-states"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=877566"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":877580,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877566\/revisions\/877580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/853683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=877566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=877566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=877566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}