New US Ambassador Brent Bozell III Arrives in Pretoria with To-Do List as Stormy Relations Test Mettle
Leo Brent Bozell III, the newly appointed United States ambassador to South Africa, has arrived in the country to officially take up his post, touching down at a moment when diplomatic relations between Washington and Pretoria are arguably at their most fraught in decades.
Bozell, a conservative activist and writer selected by former President Donald Trump, is expected to present his credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa in the coming days, a formality that will formally recognize him as the US envoy. His arrival in Pretoria marks the end of a prolonged vacancy in the high-profile posting.
The ambassador-designate enters a diplomatic minefield. Relations have deteriorated sharply over the past year, fueled by Washington’s accusations that South Africa is persecuting its white minority, its criticism of Pretoria’s ties with Russia and China, and the imposition of steep tariffs on South African exports.
The tension peaked when the US expelled South Africa’s ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, after he made critical comments about the Trump administration, leaving the country without a top envoy in Washington
Bozell’s agenda signals potential flashpoints ahead. During his Senate confirmation hearing in October, he outlined a mandate that includes pressing South Africa to end its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice a cornerstone of Pretoria’s foreign policy and advancing Trump’s controversial refugee programme for white South Africans, particularly the Afrikaner minority.
“I come before you at a challenging moment for US-South Africa relations,” Bozell told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee late last year. He promised to communicate Washington’s objections to what he termed South Africa’s “geostrategic drift” towards US competitors . However, he also stated he would approach his role “with respect for the South African people”.
South Africa has firmly rejected the narrative of state-sanctioned persecution of whites, but has signalled it will not interfere with the US refugee programme. Recent closed-door meetings between U