The DA claimed that the United States had denied South Africa’s special envoy Mcebisi Jonas a diplomatic visa.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office has cautioned South Africans against treating the DA’s “disinformation on matters of international relations and diplomacy” as official government policy.
This comes after DA spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation, Emma Louise Powell, claimed on Tuesday that the United States (US) had denied South Africa’s special envoy, Mcebisi Jonas, a diplomatic visa.
“In an extraordinary turn of events, the Democratic Alliance can reveal that President Cyril Ramaphosa has, for months, been fully aware that his ‘Special Envoy’ is not welcome in Washington D.C.
“The US government has formally rejected Jonas’s credentials and has informed the Presidency that he would not be recognised as South Africa’s official interlocutor,” Powell claimed.
‘Sensationalism’
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said the DA is seeking to add “sensationalism to its claim.”
“The Democratic Alliance’s latest effort to embarrass President Ramaphosa’s Special Envoy to North America, Mr Jonas Mcebisi, involves claims – in the DA’s framing – that the United States has rejected Mr Jonas’ ‘credentials’ and that Mr Jonas is therefore unable to perform his role as Special Envoy,” Magwenya said.
“The DA seeks to add sensationalism to its claim by suggesting President Ramaphosa and Mr Jonas face a crisis in view of the United States’ pending implementation of trade tariffs announced several days ago by President Donald Trump.
“The facts around this matter include the reality that Special Envoys do not present diplomatic credentials to host countries in the way designated Heads of Mission or other diplomats are,” Magwenya said.
The DA says the US has denied a visa to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s special envoy Mcebisi Jonas, allegedly informing Pretoria in May that it does not recognise his appointment. DA international relations
spokesperson Emma Powell says the president must now take the country into… pic.twitter.com/ISlf8kKPVM— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) July 15, 2025
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‘Envoys’
According to Magwenya, envoys are not required to account publicly for the work they undertake.
“The Presidency is therefore concerned about the Democratic Alliance’s persistent campaign against South Africa’s national interest and its posture of trying to embarrass and belittle our country and in this specific circumstance, Mr Jonas.
“This campaign has its origins in a Democratic Alliance visit to the United States earlier this year, to advance an ideological agenda rather than our national interest,” Magwenya said.
‘Right-wing nexus’
Magwenya added that the DA has positioned itself as part of a “right-wing nexus” that seeks to use a foreign state to “effect changes to democratically developed national policies in our own country.”
“The DA is trying cheaply but dangerously to exploit a critical engagement between South Africa and the United States to protest President Ramaphosa’s removal of Mr Andrew Whitfield as Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition,” Magwenya said.
“The DA’s pronouncements and insults against countries and international organisations, such as the Republic of Cuba or the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, offend South Africa’s international relations and posture.
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“If the DA were to succeed in undermining South Africa’s relations with various nations or institutions, the party will harm the viability of businesses and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of South Africans who work in sectors that depend on the expansion of our trade relations with the world,” Magwenya said.
Magwenya said Jonas’s outreach does not in any way supersede the leading role played by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) in South Africa’s “difficult but constructive trade negotiations with the United States, or in our diplomatic relations with this longstanding partner.”
Jonas’s appointment
Ramaphosa announced the appointment of Jonas as the Special Envoy to the US in April.
Jonas’ appointment as special envoy followed the expulsion of the former South African ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool.
Rasool returned to South Africa in March after the US Secretary of State revoked his diplomatic privileges.
He was declared persona non grata and given just a week to leave the US due to comments he made about the country and the Donald Trump administration during a webinar.
At the time, Ramaphosa said Jonas would serve as the official representative of the president and the government of South Africa.
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