South Africa’s government called in the new U.S. ambassador to the country to explain himself over “undiplomatic remarks,” foreign affairs minister Ronald Lamola said on Wednesday.
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Conservative activist and writer Leo Brent Bozell III arrived in Pretoria as U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy last month.
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Diplomatic relations between the two countries have soured during Trump’s second term in office.
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Trump has criticised South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment policies to address the legacy of centuries of racial inequality and its genocide case at the World Court against Israel, a close U.S. ally. Israel strongly rejects South Africa’s genocide case over its military campaign in Gaza.
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At a conference on Tuesday, Bozell waded into controversy by arguing that South African liberation chant “Kill the Boer” amounts to hate speech, despite local courts ruling that it does not.
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Bozell said: “I’m sorry, I don’t care what your courts say. It’s hate speech.”
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Lamola told a press conference that Bozell’s comments were viewed as undermining the country’s judiciary and history.
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Another senior foreign affairs official Zane Dangor said Bozell had “apologised and expressed regret … in terms of what happened yesterday”.
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Lamola said Bozell’s “role as a guest is to support us to build one nation, … he must not take us back to a polarized society along racial lines.”
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South Africa seeks to project a non-aligned foreign policy stance. Trump has accused it of taking “aggressive positions” towards Washington and its allies.
