Cape Town – Former South African ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool, arrived at Cape Town International Airport on Sunday morning to a hero's welcome, following his expulsion from Washington last week. Rasool was declared persona non grata after comments he made regarding the Trump administration, which the US government deemed unacceptable.
A large crowd, including members of the media, a heavy police presence, and supporters from various ANC alliance partners, gathered at the airport to greet Rasool and his wife. Despite the controversy surrounding his expulsion, Rasool remained defiant, stating that he stood by his comments and had no regrets.
"My remarks were with the [Mapungubwe] institute speaking to South African intelligents, intellectuals, political leaders and others to alert them to a change of the way we live, to a change of the way we are positioned in the United States, that the old way of doing business with the US was not a good one," Rasool told the assembled media and supporters.
Rasool emphasised that his comments were intended to highlight the differences between the Trump administration and previous US presidencies, such as those of Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. He insisted that his analysis focused on a political phenomenon rather than a personal attack on any individual, nation, or government.
"There's nothing that I will say there that I would not say elsewhere. And so, I would stand by my analysis because we were analysing a political phenomenon, not a personality, not a nation, and not even a government. And so, I stand by that," Rasool asserted.
The former ambassador's troubles began after a recent Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (Mistra) webinar, where he accused Donald Trump of launching an assault on incumbency.
"The second discontinuity is almost that I think what Donald Trump is launching is an assault on incumbency, those who are in power, by mobilising a supremacism against the incumbency at home and I think I’ve illustrated abroad as well," Rasool said during the webinar.
He further elaborated on his analysis, stating, "So in terms of that supremacist assault on incumbency we see it in the domestic politics of the USA, the MAGA movement, as a response not simply to a supremacist instinct, but to very clear data that shows great demographic shifts in the USA, in which the voting electorate is projected to become 48% white and that the possibility of a majority of minorities is looming on the horizon."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio seemingly used Rasool's comments as justification for his expulsion, commenting on social media that Rasool "was no longer welcome in our great country".
Rasool's expulsion has further strained relations between Pretoria and Washington.
Cosatu provincial secretary Malvern de Bruyn stated that their organisation had passed a resolution to welcome Rasool back to South Africa during their congress meeting last week. "So today we're only here to welcome him back to our country where he belongs. Although we are disappointed with the decision of the American people…we are disappointed because I think they've overacted in expelling him," De Bruyn said.
SACP secretary general Benson Ngqentsu commended Rasool for his representation of South Africa in the US, stating, "We are here to welcome Ambassador Rasool, to commend him for having represented our country well in the United States of America. And important about his role was that he refused to submit [to] the details of the right-wing populist, authoritarian Western imperialists. So that for me is very important. And further, he reasserted our national sovereignty as a country."
ANC Dullah Omar regional secretary Mvusi Mdala emphasised that their gathering was a show of solidarity and respect for the Presidency. "We have gathered here and we respect the Presidency and we are not violent or anything we are showing our solidarity," Mdala said.
Rasool is expected to provide a comprehensive report to President Cyril Ramaphosa regarding the circumstances surrounding his expulsion. He stated that he was ready to brief the Presidency at their convenience. As Rasool prepares to brief President Ramaphosa, the South African government faces the challenge of navigating its relationship with the US in the wake of this diplomatic spat.
