Bozell's welcome betrays South Africa’s principles

PRETORIAS acceptance of Brent Bozell as US ambassador, despite his explicit intent to undermine South Africa's foreign policy, represents a profound diplomatic and moral capitulation that validates American power over South African sovereignty.

- SHABODIEN ROOMANAY

LEO Brent Bozell is sworn in as US ambassador to South Africa. The mental slavery of the belief that the US is a 'superpower' needs to be discarded, says the writer.

(US Embassy in South Africa/IOL Graphics)

When the US declared South Africa's ambassador to Washington, Ebrahim Rasool, persona non grata in March 2025 for criticising the Trump administration, it established a clear precedent: ambassadors who publicly criticise their host government’s leadership are no longer welcome.

Yet, less than a year later, South Africa has accepted a US ambassador whose Senate testimony openly declared a mission to dismantle core pillars of South Africa's foreign and economic policy, including its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

This stark hypocrisy reveals a government that has relinquished its moral standing for perceived geopolitical pragmatism.

Brent Bozell III was confirmed by the US Senate on December 18 last year and sworn in on January 9. His testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and subsequent analyses, outline a confrontational agenda directly at odds with South African policy.

« Direct opposition to South Africa's ICJ case against Israel: Bozell explicitly stated, “I would press South Africa to end proceedings against Israel before the International Court of Justice,” dismissing the case as “lawfare”. This is a direct attempt to undermine a legal action South Africa has framed as a moral imperative rooted in international law.

« Strategic realignment against BRICS partners: He vowed to combat South Africa's “geostrategic drift” toward America’s “competitors, including Russia, China, and Iran’. This confronts South Africa’s core foreign policy of nonalignment and its strategic economic partnerships within BRICS, framing them as adversarial choices.