With the Donald Trump administration cutting financial aid to South Africa, the diplomatic ties between the two nations have hit a low. This has now deteriorated with the expulsion of South African ambassador to the US.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday announced that the South African envoy, Ebrahim Rasool, was a persona non grata, saying he hates President Donald Trump and America.
Rubio posted on X that Rasool is no longer welcome to the US. "We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA," he said.
Rasool's short stint in Washington comes after just two months after he presented his credential to Trump's predecessor Joe Biden on January 13. This was his second tenure as US envoy.
Trump has repeatedly slammed the South African government over its genocide case against Israel at the Internation Court of Justice over the Gaza conflict against Hamas. Rasool has been a vocal supporter of the case against Israel, a contentious issue that put him in the bad book of US officials.
In a September 2023 post on Facebook, Rasool uploaded a photo showing a scarf signed by then Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh. A month later, Hamas attacked Israel, killing several thousands and taking hundreds as hostages. Israel and Hamas are currently negotiating the extension of their existing ceasefire deal mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar.
Another contentious issue that has worsened the diplomatic ties is South Africa's land policy, which Trump ally Elon Musk said is against white people in the country. Born in South Africa, Musk said white people in the country have been victims of "racist ownership laws". The land bill was signed into law by president Cyril Ramaphosa in January, allowing the government to expropriate land, even without compensating the owner.
Though there are no evidences, Trump has alleged that South Africa is "confiscating land" and treating "certain classes of people very badly."