The presidency has said no date has been set for incoming ambassadors to present their credentials, indicating Washington’s newly appointed envoy has not yet formally assumed his duties despite reports of his arrival in the country.
“There’s no date yet set for new ambassadors to present their credentials,” President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said when asked whether the new US ambassador, Leo Brent Bozell III, had landed in the country this week.
Under diplomatic convention, ambassadors take up their posts only on presenting letters of credence to the host head of state. In South Africa, the process is traditionally handled through a group ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, where the presidency designates a single date on which many envoys submit their credentials simultaneously.
Until such a ceremony takes place, the US envoy remains ambassador-designate regardless of his physical presence on South African soil.
The reported arrival comes at a fraught moment in relations between Pretoria and Washington, which have grown increasingly strained over trade and geopolitical alignment.
Bozell is not a career diplomat but rather a conservative media critic. He is also a fierce supporter of Israel, which could be a source of contention between him and the SA government, which has taken Israel to the International Criminal Court, accusing it of genocide in Gaza.
SA has not had an ambassador in the US since early 2025 after the previous ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, was expelled from Washington for his criticism of President Donald Trump.
Business Day
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.