US Declares South African Ambassador Persona Non Grata

SATURDAY March 15, 2025 |TheNewsDESK

By Idorenyin UMOREN

The United States, US, Secretary of State, Marco Rubio said South African Ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool is “no longer welcome in our great country”.

The Secretary of State stated this in an X post on Friday, March 14, 2025, night following a controversial remark from the South African diplomat.

He said Rasool is considered persona non grata in the US.

“Ebrahim Rasool is a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates POTUS,” he said, using the acronym for President of the United States.

Rubio added, “We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA.”

At a foreign policy seminar held on Friday in his home country, the South African Ambassador told participants that US President Donald Trump was leading a white supremacist movement in America and around the world, right-wing media outlet Breitbart reports.

Rasool was attempting to explain the US President’s recent foreign policy stances against South Africa’s property expropriation legislation when he made the remark.

He also castigated Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, noting that Trump mobilised a “supremacist instinct” and “white victimhood” as a “dog whistle” in the 2024 election.

Rasool, who previously served as South African Ambassador to the US from 2010 to 2015 under Obama, returned to the role this January.

However, his return comes at a time of heightened tensions between both nations, with media reports this week suggesting he has been denied audiences with US State Department and top Republican officials.