Three Months On, South Africa Envoy Sidelined in Talks With US

Three months after South Africa appointed Mcebisi Jonas as a special envoy to the US and tasked him with helping reset bilateral relations with President Donald Trump’s administration, he has yet to visit the nation or meet with any high-level officials.

Relations between Pretoria and Washington have been fraught since Trump’s return to the White House in January. The American president has made the unfounded claim that South Africa is subjecting White farmers to genocide and confiscating their land, expelled its ambassador, halted most aid and threatened to slap a 30% reciprocal tariff on its exports to the US ...