South Africa has summoned US Ambassador Brent Bozell to explain what its foreign ministry described as rude and undiplomatic conduct, amid growing tensions between the two countries.
A South African foreign ministry official said on Wednesday that Bozell was summoned on Tuesday, marking the third time he has been called in since taking up his post nine months ago.
Bozell became ambassador in February, at a time when relations between Washington and Pretoria were already strained over several issues, including South Africa’s genocide case against Israel and US President Donald Trump’s allegations that white Afrikaners are being persecuted in South Africa.
The latest summons came on the same day Bozell published an article accusing the South African government of hostility towards the United States. He had also given several critical interviews to local media.
The foreign ministry official did not disclose the specific conduct that prompted the latest summons.
Bozell was previously summoned in March, only weeks after beginning his posting, over comments concerning the same areas of disagreement.
The two countries also differ over South Africa’s policies aimed at addressing racial and economic inequalities that remain more than three decades after the end of apartheid.
These include laws promoting Black participation in business ownership and efforts to address land ownership disparities, with a large proportion of agricultural land still held by white South Africans.
In September, the United States announced visa restrictions on South Africans accused of promoting racial discrimination, inciting violence or supporting the seizure of land without compensation.
Relations deteriorated further after Trump returned to office. His administration cut aid to South Africa and expelled the country’s ambassador from Washington. Trump has also repeatedly made claims of a so-called white genocide in South Africa, which Pretoria rejects.
The US has also established a programme to resettle white Afrikaners who say they face persecution and violent crime.
Despite the disagreements, the South African foreign ministry official said discussions between the two governments were continuing, with both sides seeking to resolve their differences.
In his article published on the US embassy’s website, Bozell said Washington had become frustrated by what he described as prolonged discussions without meaningful progress.
He accused Pretoria of failing to adequately respond to several US concerns, including calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa to condemn the anti-apartheid chant “Kill the Boer”, make rural crime a greater priority and expand alternatives to Black economic empowerment requirements in sectors such as telecommunications and mining.
The chant has been the subject of legal and political debate in South Africa. South African courts have ruled in particular cases that its use does not automatically constitute hate speech, with its meaning considered in the historical context of the struggle against apartheid.
South African authorities have rejected what they describe as US interference in the country’s domestic affairs.
Bozell, however, argued that the South African government was not sufficiently interested in improving relations with Washington and called on Pretoria to reconsider what he described as its hostile approach.
