U.S. Ambassador L. Brent Bozell III says President Cyril Ramaphosa refuses to condemn the chant “Kill the Boer! Kill the farmer!”, calling it an incitement to kill.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Bozell said three of five Trump administration demands remain unmet after nine months in the post. Pretoria has now formally rebuked him three times for what it calls undiplomatic conduct.
“You’ve got a president of South Africa who refuses to condemn an incitement to kill,” Bozell said. “Those were three strikes and you’re out as far as we were concerned.”
He pointed to large crowds chanting the slogan while pantomiming guns. South African courts have said some performances are not hate speech. Bozell rejected that as an excuse: “If President Ramaphosa wants to, he can do it. It’s just as simple as that.”
The unmet demands include condemning the chant, treating rural crime and farm attacks as a priority, and easing race-based ownership rules in mining and telecoms. Bozell said billions in U.S. mining investment are on hold, and that Elon Musk’s offer to put Starlink in 500 schools was blocked by a 30 percent local ownership requirement.
He also accused the government of drifting toward Iran, Russia, China, Cuba and Hamas.
International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola defended the latest summons and told Bozell that if he is tired of talking, he should “get out of the kitchen.”
The State Department’s response: the ball is now in South Africa’s court to say what kind of relationship it wants with the United States.
The clash follows a tense May 2025 Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ramaphosa over farm attacks, land policy and race-based measures.