Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola told journalists the meeting aimed to clarify Bozell’s remarks, which included calling the apartheid-era chant "Kill the Boer, kill the farmer” hate speech and criticizing black economic empowerment policies designed to address historic inequalities. "We have called in the ambassador…to explain his undiplomatic remarks,” Lamola said.

Bozell, who took up his post last month amid already strained bilateral ties, initially questioned the South African judiciary’s rulings, telling a business gathering in Hermanus on Tuesday, "I’m sorry, I don’t care what your courts say, it’s hate speech.” South African courts have ruled the chant does not constitute hate speech when contextualized as part of the anti-apartheid struggle.

He later sought to clarify his stance on X, stating, "While my personal view…is that ‘Kill the Boer’ constitutes hate speech, the US government respects the independence and findings of South Africa’s judiciary.”

The ambassador also criticized black economic empowerment policies, drawing inaccurate parallels between apartheid-era laws and current initiatives aimed at redressing racial disparities. Lamola rejected the comparison, emphasizing, "Broad-based black economic empowerment is not reverse racism…It is a constitutional imperative that the South African government can and will never abandon.”

Analysts said the incident underscores lingering sensitivities over race and land reform in South Africa, as well as broader tensions with the United States following Trump-era policies, including refugee offers to white Afrikaners and high tariffs imposed on South African exports. Zane Dangor, director-general of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), said Bozell had expressed regret for comments "that detracted from any impression that he wanted to work with us constructively.”

Diplomatic observers suggest the episode may affect ongoing US–South Africa engagement, signaling that the Pretoria government expects foreign envoys to respect local legal and social frameworks while supporting cooperative dialogue.