Washington: South African ambassador must leave by Friday

The US on Monday said South Africa's Ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, must leave the country by Friday, following a decision by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to declare him persona non grata.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed the timeline during a daily press briefing, stating that senior US diplomats had delivered the official notification to South African Embassy staff during an in-person meeting at the State Department.

"After Secretary Rubio made his decision (on Friday), our senior-level diplomats convoked the South African Embassy staff for an in-person meeting at the State Department. At this meeting, our officials delivered the official notification of Ambassador Rasool's persona non grata status," Bruce said.

"He has... Technically, it's a week from the notice, and so that expires now on Friday."

The expulsion follows remarks made by Rasool at a foreign policy seminar on Friday, in which he accused US President Donald Trump of "mobilizing a supremacism against the incumbency" both domestically and internationally.

Rubio announced the decision on X, linking to an article from the right-wing outlet Breitbart that quoted some of Rasool's recent remarks. He called Rasool a "race-baiting politician" and added that the US had "nothing to discuss with him."

"This was the equation of the President and the country with white supremacy. It was an allegation that casts such an awful light on the nature of the country, on person, on individuals… These remarks were unacceptable to the United States, not just to the president, but to every American," Bruce said.

The move comes amid escalating tensions between Washington and Pretoria. Trump signed an executive order last month cutting US financial assistance to South Africa, citing concerns about its land expropriation law, a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and deepening ties with Iran.

The decision also follows criticism from South Africa-born billionaire Elon Musk, whom Trump has leading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Musk has accused the South African government of enforcing "openly racist ownership laws" and suggested white citizens are victims of discrimination.