The United States has officially declared Ebrahim Rasool, South Africa’s ambassador to the country, a persona non grata, signaling a further deterioration in diplomatic relations between the two nations.
In a tweet late Friday night, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Rasool is no longer welcome in the country, citing his alleged anti-American sentiments.
“Ebrahim Rasool is a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS,” Rubio tweeted. “We have nothing to discuss with him, and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA.”
Rubio’s statement came in response to Rasool’s recent comments during an online lecture, in which he criticized former US President Donald Trump’s political strategies.
“What Donald Trump is launching is an assault on incumbency, those who are in power, by mobilizing a supremacism against the incumbency, at home… and abroad,” Rasool had remarked.
This latest diplomatic standoff adds to existing tensions between South Africa and the US, which have been strained following the controversy surrounding South Africa’s land reform policies.
In January, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act into law, allowing the government to seize land without compensation under specific circumstances. The law aims to rectify historic inequalities caused by apartheid-era land ownership policies.
The move drew sharp criticism from US President Donald Trump, who condemned it as a “massive” human rights violation and subsequently halted American funding to South Africa.
Despite repeated denials from the South African government regarding alleged rights violations, diplomatic efforts to engage with the US on the matter have yet to yield significant progress. Rasool’s expulsion is expected to further complicate relations between the two countries.
