WASHINGTON:
The United States has declared South Africa’s ambassador *persona non grata*, accusing him of displaying hostility toward President Donald Trump, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country,” Rubio announced in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.
He described Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool as “a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS,” referring to Trump by his official White House X account.
“We have nothing to discuss with him, and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA,” Rubio added.
The expulsion marks the latest escalation in growing tensions between Washington and Pretoria. Earlier this year, Trump suspended U.S. aid to South Africa, citing a controversial land reform law that he claims allows the seizure of land from white farmers.
One of Trump’s closest allies, South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, has also criticized the South African government, accusing President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration of enforcing “openly racist ownership laws.”
Land ownership remains a deeply divisive issue in South Africa, where most farmland is still owned by white individuals nearly three decades after the end of apartheid. The government has faced mounting pressure to address historical inequalities through land reform.
During a G20 event in South Africa last month, Ramaphosa revealed that he had a “wonderful” conversation with Trump shortly after the U.S. president took office in January. However, he noted that relations between the two nations later “seemed to go a little bit off the rails.”
The expulsion of Ambassador Rasool underscores the strained diplomatic ties between the U.S. and South Africa, with both nations at odds over domestic policies and international relations.
