Barely two weeks into the job, United States Ambassador to South Africa Leo Brent Bozell III looks determined to join a strange club: American diplomats who have recently been rebuked by their host countries.
This trend has not gone unnoticed. In France, US Ambassador Charles Kushner was reprimanded and blocked after his comments were widely interpreted as interference in French politics. In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk (yes that's his name) and members of parliament also publicly chastised US Ambassador Tom Rose for insults and threats towards a diplomat. Ambassador Bozel has clearly decided not to be left behind.
Bozell declared that he did not care about South Africa's courts – a statement that typically raised eyebrows among visiting tourists who ask if lions roam the streets of Pretoria.
As a South African living and working in my own country, I thought there was a need for a spirit of international cooperation. Here's a brief survival guide to help the US ambassador navigate the sometimes unfamiliar terrain of South African political culture.
First tip: South Africans do not respond well to “bass” tones.
There is a cultural nuance that the ambassador must understand. South Africans don't like to be talked about like children. Blame colonialism. Blame apartheid. Blame the long and tired history of white people coming to this continent convinced they had a civilizing mission and the permanent right to lecture Africans about running their own affairs. Instead, they left African countries with a legacy of decades of racism, oppression, and violence. That bass mentality doesn't travel well in South Africa.
When foreign officials adopt the tone of colonial observers explaining democracy to natives, the reaction is swift and spontaneous. We have heard this voice before from governors, administrators and people who believed that their authority came from caste rather than consent. South Africans are warm and hospitable people. We are also deeply allergic to condescension. To put it plainly: We're not really “that kind of black.”
Second tip: Courts in South Africa are not decorative
South Africans have an unusual attachment to their Constitution. Our courts have ruled against governments, parliaments and presidents. Civil society forces Thabo Mbeki's government to provide life-saving HIV treatment after winning in court. A former president, Jacob Zuma, was sent to jail by the Constitutional Court.
Even Nelson Mandela, while serving as President, was dragged to court by Louis Luyt, “Die Paus van Allis Park”. Mandela had to abide by the findings of the apex court, which limited his powers in changing rugby.
Therefore, when a visiting ambassador says he does not care about South African courts, it causes dismay at the national level. He comes across as a man who has mistaken Pretoria for a cable news studio. In South Africa, constitutionalism is not a suggestion; This is a contract. And every citizen, from the common man to the President, is bound by it.
Third tip: South Africans forgive even their critics
Ambassador Bozell has spent decades denouncing the anti-apartheid struggle. Even when Mandela died in 2013, he complained on social media that the media was “mythologizing” Mandela. This is a strange complaint from a man who represents a nation that respects the right to bear arms with almost religious devotion.
But hey, like their icons, South Africans are generally warm and forgiving. In August 1995, at the height of his power, and in an act of grace and forgiveness, Mandela traveled to Orania to have tea with Betsy Verwoerd, the widow of apartheid's architect, Hendrik Verwoerd. Even President Thabo Mbeki offered former president and apartheid leader PW Botha a state funeral. His family declined, but Mbeki nevertheless issued a generous formal statement of condolence. This country knows how to embrace the “other”. Just don't disrespect the courts.
Fourth tip: Do not mistake the border for the state
Another diplomatic best practice: involving sovereign states, not the loudest voices on the margins. The South African government does not have a policy called “Kill the Boer”. The parties ruling the country do not sing it at official events. Most citizens don't care about it. Yet some observers seem oddly eager to stoke fringe passions in national policy debates. It's a strange diplomatic strategy: Imagine you arrive in Britain and decide that the best way to understand British policy is to quote the comments section of the salacious tabloid The Sun. South Africa is governed by a constitution, not viral outrage.
Fifth Tip: South Africans don't weaponize family scandals
In black families, the first thing asked when a child misbehaves is “What kind of family does he come from?” When Ambassador Bozell arrived in Pretoria, no one brought up the case of his son, Leo Brent Bozell IV, who was convicted for his role in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6. A federal jury found him guilty of not one, not two, not three, but 10 criminal charges. He was among the rioters who pushed over police barricades to confront officers. Bozell Jr. was sentenced to three years in prison but was later pardoned by Donald Trump.
Not a single South African picked up on this history because “we listen and we do not judge”. Just keep kids away from the union building. And try not to lecture South Africans about politics, institutions and the rule of law.
One final suggestion for Ambassador Bozel:
South Africa is not a fragile state. This is a noisy, debating, flexible democracy.
Our politics is messed up. Our debates are intense. Our institutions are tested frequently.
But one thing cannot be compromised: the Constitution. Respect this, and you will find South Africans to be warm, generous and endlessly welcoming.
Ignore this, and you may soon learn a unique South African phrase: “Haier kom kak!” Ask AfriForum to translate. DM
Radi Talhabi is a South African journalist, producer, author and former radio presenter.