Pretoria summons US ambassador over criticism
Leo Brent Bozell III was first summoned in March over his remarks on the “Kill the Boer” chant.
South Africa has summoned the US ambassador for a second time, escalating a diplomatic disagreement with Washington amidst a US terrorism lawsuit against one of the nation's largest telecommunications companies. Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III was initially called to Pretoria in March following his criticism of the "Kill the Boer" chant, a term associated with apartheid-era policies targeting white Afrikaners.
In recent months, Bozell has further criticized Pretoria's handling of US President Donald Trump's demands concerning land ownership, race relations, farm-related violence, and hate speech. South Africa maintains these requests are unwarranted interference in its internal matters, asserting its racial policies are a lawful remedy for the historical inequality left by apartheid.
This escalation in tensions unfolds concurrently with the Johannesburg-based MTN Group, Africa's premier telecom provider, facing a setback in a New York lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed by families of US nationals who perished or suffered injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, accuses MTN of supporting the Taliban through illicit payments and disabling its network upon request of the terrorist organization.
Additionally, MTN is alleged to have aided Iran's Revolutionary Guards operations in Iraq through its stake in Irancell.
Written by urgent.news from Semafor's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
