Trump appointee Bozell takes up SA diplomatic post

The international relations and co-operation department has received a copy of the letter of credence from the new US ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell III. The department said deputy director-general, Clayson Monyela, acting as chief of state protocol, received the copy on Monday. Bozell quietly arrived in South Africa last week after months of anticipation, having been appointed by US President Donald Trump to represent Washington’s interests in the country last year.

Bozell, a known conservative and Israeli government supporter, has stated previously that among his missions to South Africa would be to convince Pretoria to drop its case against the Benjamin Netanyahu-led government at the International Court of Justice. The new ambassador is also known as the father of one of an estimated 1,600 people charged with storming the US Capitol on January 6 2021. Bozell heads the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which owns the government-backed media house Voice of America.

In March, Trump moved to defund the USAGM, which oversees key news agencies, paving the way for Bozell to be nominated as the US’s top diplomat to South Africa. Bozell succeeds former US ambassador Reuben Brigety, who left South Africa under a cloud after he accused the government of selling arms to Russia during the war in Ukraine.