U.S. ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell III, has been called by the South African government to justify himself over ‘undiplomatic remarks’ he made against the country, according to South Africa’s foreign affairs minister, Romal Lamola, on Wednesday.
This comes after the conservative activist and author claimed during a summit on Tuesday that the South African liberation chant “Kill the Boer,” amounts to hate speech, despite the local court’s judgment that it does not. Bozell said: “I am sorry, I don’t care what your court says. It’s hate speech.”
As a result, Lamola said during a press conference that Bozell’s comments were viewed as disrespectful to the country’s legal system and history. “His role as a guest is to support us to build one nation, … He must not take us back to a polarized society along racial lines,” Lamola added.
However, according to another senior foreign affairs executive, Zane Dangor, Bozell has “apologized and claims he regrets what he said.”
Bozell was appointed as U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy to South Africa and arrived in Pretoria in February.
The African nation’s Black Economic Empowerment policy that seeks to address the legacy of racial inequalities and its genocide lawsuit against Israel at the World Court, has been widely condemned by Trump, leading to a deterioration of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
U.S. President Donald Trump has blamed South Africa for being aggressive toward the U.S. and its allies, nonetheless, South Africa has maintained that it seeks to project a neutral foreign policy posture.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah