The South African Presidency has defended the appointment of Mcebisi Jonas as Special Envoy to the United States, saying that his past criticism of President Donald Trump, calling him a "racist and homophobe" was made before he held any official position and should be understood in context.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya addressed the controversy while speaking to the media in the Eastern Cape on Wednesday, during a Presidential oversight visit led by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“We believe that Mr Jonas will be able to undertake this task. The comments he made were made in his capacity as a private citizen,” said Magwenya.
“At that time, he was not an ambassador or an envoy, and did not represent the South African government. Those remarks should be viewed in that context.”
Ramaphosa on Monday announced Jonas’ appointment as Special Envoy to the US, where he will represent the president and the government in diplomatic and trade matters, and foster partnerships with American government officials and private-sector leaders.
The criticism of Jonas comes from remarks he made in 2020, which recently resurfaced.
Earlier on Wednesday, IOL News reported that in an interview with Radio 702, Jonas clarified his statements.
“At the time, I was speaking as an activist and was outside of government,” Jonas said.
“People move on and confront the challenges of the time. The real issue now is to work on the relationship between the two countries. I’m committed to that and have the backing of both the government and South Africans in general.”
Jonas’ controversy has drawn comparisons to former South African ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool, who was expelled from the US after criticising the Trump administration during a webinar.
Rasool was declared “persona non grata” by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and returned to South Africa last month, where he was welcomed by family and supporters.
Magwenya emphasised the key difference between the two situations.
“There’s a distinction between the comments Mr Rasool made while serving as ambassador and those made by Mr Jonas, who was a private citizen at the time,” he said.
“We believe the Trump administration will be able to differentiate this issue contextually, and that Mr Jonas will engage appropriately with his counterparts.”
Ramaphosa has said Jonas’ role is to advance South Africa’s diplomatic and trade interests and strengthen bilateral relations with the United States.
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