South Africa has again summoned United States Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III over what the government described as “undiplomatic conduct”, deepening a diplomatic dispute between Pretoria and Washington over domestic policies, land reform, race and security.
A senior South African foreign ministry official said Bozell was called to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation on Tuesday, marking the third formal démarche involving the ambassador in nine months.
The latest reprimand followed a series of critical public comments by the ambassador and an opinion article in which he accused the South African government of failing to adequately respond to concerns raised by Washington.
The dispute comes at a difficult period in relations between the two countries, with disagreements ranging from South Africa’s Black economic empowerment policies and land laws to rural crime, the status of Afrikaners and Pretoria’s wider foreign policy.
Washington Presses Pretoria on Domestic Policies
Among the issues raised by Washington are calls for South Africa to expand alternatives to Black equity requirements for American companies, particularly in sectors such as telecommunications and mining.
US officials have also criticised South Africa’s land policies and called for stronger action against rural crime.
Another source of disagreement is the controversial anti-apartheid chant “Kill the Boer”.
Bozell and other US officials have criticised its continued use, while South African courts have held that the chant should be interpreted within its historical and political context rather than automatically classified as hate speech.
Washington has also established a refugee programme for Afrikaners who say they face persecution and discrimination in South Africa.
The South African government disputes claims of systematic persecution of white citizens and has rejected US characterisations of some of its domestic policies.
Visa Restrictions Add to Tensions
The disagreement has increasingly moved beyond diplomatic exchanges.
In September, Washington announced visa restrictions targeting South Africans it said were involved in promoting race-based discrimination, inciting violence or enabling land confiscation without compensation.
The identities of those affected were not publicly disclosed in the reporting reviewed.
Pretoria, meanwhile, maintains that its domestic policies are designed to address inequalities rooted in the country’s apartheid history and says it will protect its sovereign authority over internal policy.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has continued discussions with Washington despite the public disagreements.
A South African foreign ministry official said the outstanding issues remain under discussion and that both sides have expressed a commitment to resolving them.
Strategic Relationship Faces Pressure
The diplomatic confrontation comes despite significant economic and commercial links between Africa’s most industrialised economy and the United States.
That creates an important distinction between the increasingly hostile political rhetoric and the broader economic relationship connecting the two countries.
The latest démarche does not itself sever diplomatic relations or indicate that formal engagement has ended.
Rather, it highlights how disagreements over domestic policy and foreign affairs have increasingly moved into the public arena.
For Pretoria and Washington, the challenge will be whether ongoing diplomatic engagement can contain those disagreements while preserving areas of economic and strategic cooperation.
