The US has expelled SA Ambassador Ibrahim Rasool from Washington. In a surprise social media post, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he has declared Rasool a “persona non grata”.
The announcement means Amb Rasool need to leave the US effective immediately.
Rubio further said that Rasool was a “race-bating politician who hates America”.
The punitive move is seen in some quarters to be backlash against SA hauling Washington’s closest ally Israel before the International Court of Justice, accusing the Jewish state of committing genocide against Gaza.
The Trump administration also appears to have been angered by Rasool’s earlier claim that Trump’s Make America Great Again philosophy was a supremacist agenda.
It is not known when Rasool will depart Washington. Rubio said there is nothing to discuss with the SA ambassador, indicating that the expulsion is irreversible. At the time of the publication, SA’s Department of International Cooperation and Development (DICD) had not yet responded the developments.
