Marco Rubio declared South African envoy Ebrahim Rasool persona non grata and accused him of being a "race-baiting politician who hates America."

Sec. of State Marco Rubio announced the expulsion of South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool following remarks Rasool made accusing the United States of engaging in "supremacist" policies domestically and globally.

One of the president's closest allies, South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, has accused Mr Ramaphosa's government of having "openly racist ownership laws".Most farmland in South Africa is still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid and the government is under pressure to implement reforms.