Overview
- Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Co-operation will invite the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) for a briefing after DIRCO confirmed a third formal demarche against US Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III.
- DIRCO summoned Ambassador Bozell on 30 September 2026 in what the committee says is the third diplomatic protest since his accreditation in April 2026 and the committee wants an explanation of events and effects on bilateral ties.
- The US State Department says Ambassador Bozell met South African officials to press a response to President Donald Trump’s executive order that has criticised South African land policies and its international positions, including a case at the International Court of Justice.
- Committee leaders and MPs stressed that diplomats must follow the Vienna Convention by avoiding interference in domestic affairs and said public commentary by the ambassador undermined South Africa's sovereignty and domestic policy debates.
- Lawmakers warned the row could affect trade and investment and pointed to recent US measures such as targeted visa restrictions as signals to watch that could have concrete economic consequences if tensions persist.