Former South African ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool is said to have been given a gagging order during a debriefing with minister of international relations & co-operation Ronald Lamola.
Government insiders said Rasool’s report to Lamola stated that he had been frustrated with US president Donald Trump’s administration, which shut him out and refused to engage with him.
Rasool is said to have highlighted the hostility he faced from the administration as the basis for his decision to engage with stakeholders, including the media, about the new US government, in a bid to force a conversation.
However, a senior official at the department of international relations & co-operation said Rasool told Lamola that he had secured a meeting with a White House official to have further discussions about the disputes that have arisen between the two countries.
“His version is this: there is a state department and there is a White House. Generally, ambassadors don’t just walk into the White House. The problem he had is that the state department doesn’t have a desk leader — there is no-one at a senior level in that position. The person nominated for trade had just been named when Rasool was declared persona non grata,” the official said.
Lamola’s office announced on Monday that the minister had met Rasool after his return from the US.
“Following the meeting, a formal report will be submitted to President [Ramaphosa] for his consideration. Pending this, the ministry or department will not engage in public [discussions] on the matter,” the ministry said.
Rasool is said to have “irritated” the Presidency with his speech at Cape Town International Airport after his arrival back in South Africa, with a government official at the Union Buildings saying the former ambassador needed to show restraint.
As South Africa we don’t do megaphone diplomacy, out of respect for our bilateral partners, regardless of the state of the relationship. As a government, we are working on formulating a new trade-deal proposal we believe will be beneficial to both countries
— Vincent Magwenya, Presidency spokesperson
“Whatever we feel about the Trump administration, we can’t stoop to their level or [aggravate] the situation. His speech at the airport was unnecessary and had the potential to cause further strain. It was antagonistic language, so the minister had to gag him. He was told to stop talking about this situation publicly,” the insider said.
Rasool received a hero’s welcome on his return to Cape Town, with people coming out in numbers to show their support for him. While addressing the crowds, Rasool said he stood by the comments that led to his expulsion.
“There’s nothing that I said there that I would not say elsewhere ... We were analysing a political phenomenon — not a personality, not a nation and not even a government — and so I stand by that,” he said.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said hard lessons had been learnt, adding that the government was moving to reset South Africa’s bilateral relationship with the US.
“We are spending our energies working on getting the relationship [back] on track. It’s not going to be an event — it’s going to be a process. And most of this is going to be hard diplomatic work that won’t be seen on TV screens or media platforms,” Magwenya said.
“As South Africa, we don’t do megaphone diplomacy, out of respect for our bilateral partners, regardless of the state of the relationship. As a government, we are working on formulating a new trade-deal proposal we believe will be beneficial to both countries.”
Rasool's conduct while he was ambassador to the US has polarised senior ANC leaders.
Former president Thabo Mbeki criticised him, calling his conduct into question. Speaking at the Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs, Mbeki said Rasool said things about his host president he should not have said. He added that ambassadors are subject to certain conventions and restrictions that govern their conduct.
“When I saw this persona non grata, I wasn’t surprised, because [you can’t] make an assessment of your host president that is negative and then sit with that president tomorrow. [The two things] won’t agree,” Mbeki said.
However, another senior leader said that while Mbeki was right about the inappropriateness of Rasool’s comments about Trump, the US administration was at loggerheads with South Africa over the government’s decision to take Israel to the International Court of Justice for the alleged genocide in Gaza.
“They are intervening in our domestic affairs by promoting racial discord and political instability through [their] support of vulgar racist elements such as AfriForum. We should expect that in time they will refine and innovate their low-intensity warfare against us,” the leader said.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the party’s national executive committee (NEC) would discuss the geopolitical developments after a comprehensive presentation by deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane at its weekend meeting.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.