Newly appointed US ambassador to South Africa Leo Brent Bozell III
Newly appointed US ambassador to South Africa Leo Brent Bozell III has arrived in the country to take up his post at a time of continued diplomatic tension between Washington and Pretoria.
Bozell is expected to present his letters of credence to President Cyril Ramaphosa in the coming days, a formal process that will recognise him as the US ambassador to South Africa, Reuters reported.
International relations and cooperation spokesperson Chrispin Phiri told the Mail & Guardian that the department was not commenting on the matter yet, adding: “In fact it’s not practice to announce an arrival of an ambassador.”
US President Donald Trump nominated Bozell as ambassador to Pretoria last year, amid a historic diplomatic storm between the two countries, largely over false claims by Washington of a white genocide in South Africa and differing stances on Israel’s war against Palestine.
Pretoria filed a case at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, a move strongly opposed by Washington, which has backed Israel.
The US has publicly criticised South Africa’s position on the conflict, while Pretoria has defended its actions as consistent with international law.
Bozell’s nomination, which was later confirmed by the US Senate, came days after Washington expelled South Africa’s ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, after he told a webinar hosted by a local think tank that Trump was trying to create a “supremacist revolution” at home and abroad.
Bozell is a lifelong conservative activist and founder of the Media Research Centre, which campaigns against what it identifies to be liberal bias in the mainstream media. He has portrayed Trump in particular as the victim of such bias. He also founded a related organisation that seeks to counter liberal influence on American culture.
He was once critical of Trump but shifted his stance in the latter part of Trump’s first term as president and claimed that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” after Trump lost to Joe Biden.
Bozell’s posting restores a permanent US ambassador in South Africa after a period in which the position was vacant. Former ambassador Reuben Brigety announced his resignation in November 2024, effective from January 2025.