South Africa has formally called in the new American ambassador to explain controversial comments on the country’s racial policies and court decisions, escalating diplomatic tensions between Pretoria and Washington.
Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola confirmed on Wednesday that Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III was summoned to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation following what officials described as “undiplomatic remarks” made during his first public address.
The 70-year-old ambassador, who took up his post last month, sparked outrage when he labelled the apartheid-era slogan “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer” as “hate speech” during a speech to business leaders in Hermanus on Tuesday, directly contradicting South African court rulings on the matter.
“I’m sorry, I don’t care what your courts say, it’s hate speech,” Bozell told the audience, according to reports.
The slogan, which originates from the anti-apartheid struggle against white-minority rule, has been the subject of multiple legal challenges. South Africa’s Constitutional Court has ruled that the phrase does not constitute hate speech when considered in its historical context as a liberation song.
Bozell appeared to backtrack on Wednesday, posting on X: “I want to clarify that while my personal view — like that of many South Africans — is that ‘Kill the Boer’ constitutes hate speech, the US government respects the independence and findings of South Africa’s judiciary.”
However, the damage had been done. Lamola told journalists that the government had formally demarched the ambassador, requiring him to explain his position.
The ambassador also criticised South Africa’s black economic empowerment policies during the same speech, suggesting they led to “stagnation” that harmed the economy.
“We reiterate that broad-based black economic empowerment is not reverse racism as regrettably insinuated by the ambassador,” Lamola said. “It is a fundamental instrument designed to address the structural imbalances of South Africa’s unique history. It is a constitutional imperative that the South African government can and will never abandon.”
Bozell’s appointment by President Donald Trump has been controversial from the start. The conservative activist and founder of the Media Research Centre has been described as a defender of apartheid in the 1980s, raising concerns about his suitability for the diplomatic posting.
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The incident comes amid already strained relations between the two countries. Bilateral ties have been fractured over South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, a key US ally, at the International Court of Justice.
Trump has repeatedly made unfounded claims about a “white genocide” in South Africa, assertions that have been fact-checked and debunked by multiple organisations. During a White House meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa in May last year, Trump showed video clips of opposition politicians chanting the “Kill the Boer” slogan to support his claims.
The foreign minister said South Africa remains open to constructive engagement with the United States, but diplomatic protocol must be respected.
The diplomatic row adds to mounting tensions between Pretoria and Washington under the Trump administration, with disagreements spanning from trade policy to South Africa’s foreign relations with countries including Russia and China.
