South Africa’s foreign affairs ministry has summoned US Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III for a third time over what it described as “undiplomatic conduct”.
“We can confirm that we demarched Ambassador Bozell. The third demarche since he started his duties nine months ago,” a senior official at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) told Reuters late on Tuesday, September 30.
A demarche is a formal diplomatic protest. The official did not elaborate on what conduct triggered the latest summons, while the US embassy did not immediately respond.
Bozell, a conservative activist and writer, arrived in Pretoria as President Donald Trump’s envoy in February. He was first called in within weeks of taking up the post over remarks DIRCO said undermined South Africa’s judiciary and historical context.
The latest summons came on the same day Bozell published an opinion piece accusing the government of “hostility” after a series of critical interviews in which he said Pretoria had not adequately addressed Washington’s concerns.
Relations between the two countries have been strained by Trump’s repeated false claims that white South Africans face systemic persecution, and by disagreements over black empowerment and land laws aimed at addressing apartheid-era inequalities.
Two weeks ago, Washington unveiled visa restrictions on some South Africans accused of promoting “race-based discrimination” and enabling land confiscation.
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