The United States Senate has confirmed conservative activist Leo Brent Bozell III as the next US ambassador to South Africa, a move that will directly impact diplomatic operations headquartered at the US embassy in Johannesburg amid increasingly strained relations between the two countries.
The embassy, based in Johannesburg and responsible for managing key diplomatic, political and economic relations between South Africa and the United States, has been without a permanent ambassador since January. Bozell’s confirmation ends months of uncertainty at the mission, which has been led by acting head of mission David Green since March.
Bozell was nominated by US President Donald Trump in March, a decision that drew immediate scrutiny in South Africa due to his history as an anti-ANC activist during the apartheid era. His nomination passed through several legislative stages, including a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in October, before being confirmed by the full Senate on Wednesday.
The confirmation comes against the backdrop of heightened diplomatic tensions that have been acutely felt in Johannesburg, where the US embassy engages daily with government departments, business leaders, civil society organisations and international institutions.
Relations deteriorated earlier this year after President Trump made repeated and widely disputed claims of a “genocide” in South Africa and publicly invited white Afrikaners to seek refuge in the US. The statements sparked strong reactions from political leaders and advocacy groups in Gauteng, with protests and formal diplomatic objections channelled through the Johannesburg-based embassy.
Diplomatic strain intensified further in March when South Africa’s ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, was recalled following public criticism of Trump’s leadership style. His post in Washington remains vacant, leaving senior diplomatic engagement largely managed by officials operating out of Johannesburg and Washington.
During his confirmation hearing, Bozell signalled that his tenure would involve pressing South Africa on several contentious issues, including its non-aligned foreign policy stance and relationships with Russia, Iran and China. He also said he would urge the South African government to withdraw its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
“When South African politicians greet as friends those who seek to destabilise the world’s peace and security, then common ground between our two countries feels harder to find,” Bozell told US senators.
However, when questioned by Democratic lawmakers, Bozell stopped short of endorsing Trump’s claims of genocide in South Africa, declining to state explicitly whether he believed such a situation existed.
The confirmation also follows renewed attention on asylum claims linked to Afrikaners. This week, the Department of Home Affairs, headquartered in Johannesburg, arrested and deported seven Kenyan nationals accused of facilitating irregular refugee applications for Afrikaners seeking asylum in the US.
As Bozell prepares to assume his post, attention now turns to how his leadership will shape the tone and direction of US diplomacy from Johannesburg, with political analysts warning that relations may face further pressure if tensions are not carefully managed.