Why the ANC will not meet US ambassador

Deputy Director-General (DDG), Clayson Monyela, Acting Chief of State Protocol, receiving copies of Letters of Credence from His Excellency L Brent Bozell III, United States Ambassador to South Africa. The African National Congress (ANC) has confirmed it will not meet with theincoming United States ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell III,until he is formally accredited by President Cyril Ramaphosa, a step considered standard diplomatic protocol. The party says engaging with him before the formal presentation of credentials would be premature and diplomatically inappropriate.

Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday, ANC first deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane stressed that while Bozell has met with various stakeholders in Pretoria, he cannot yet be treated as an official ambassador. “Until the president formally receives the ambassador and accepts his credentials, he is not officially recognized in South Africa,” she said. “The ANC will not participate in informal meetings that lack formal diplomatic status and authority.” The briefing also included the announcement that the ANC plans to lead a march to Constitutional Hill on 21 March in defence of South Africa’s sovereignty and the gains of democracy.

Mokonyane emphasised that the march is not directed at the United States but is intended to assert South Africa’s right to self-determination and to protect national governance from external influence. Tensions between the ANC and the US embassy have also been heightened by the ANC’s proposal to rename Sandton Drive, where the US embassy is located, to Leilah Khaled Drive. It was Mokonyane had initially announced the proposed name change duringaANC gathering last year, describing Khaled as a symbol of anti-colonial struggle.

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Mokonyane confirmed that Bozell’s office had extended an invitation to the ANC for a meeting, but she reiterated that proper procedures must be followed. “While we have communicated with the US embassy on certain party programmes, we will not give legitimacy to interactions that do not follow established diplomatic customs,” she said.

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