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.
Image: DIRCO
The African National Congress (ANC) has confirmed it will not meet with the incoming 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 during a ANC gathering last year, describing Khaled as a symbol of anti-colonial struggle.
Leilah Khaled is a Palestinian activist and member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a group classified as a terrorist organisation by the United States.
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.
The party also highlighted past instances of foreign interference in South Africa. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula cited attempts by the Trump administration to influence domestic affairs, including calls for the arrest of Julius Malema over political slogans and pressure to halt transformation initiatives such as Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE). “South Africa will not allow foreign governments to dictate our laws or policies,” Mbalula said.
Mokonyane further warned against external interference in other nations, citing Venezuela as an example where foreign involvement undermined sovereignty.
She said the march would serve as a public demonstration that South Africans alone have the authority to guide their political and economic future.