The cabinet minister who had the toughest year in 2025 could well be Ronald Lamola, who was at the sharp end of multiple crises with the US, a stand-off with a belligerent President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and the challenges of hosting the G20 summit.
“At a particular time in any revolution, there must be individuals who are tasked with certain responsibilities and in this regard, I am the one tasked with this one,” said Lamola, 42, who was only appointed minister of international relations and co-operation 18 months ago when the government of national unity was formed.
Lamola was quickly plunged into the deep end this year when President Donald Trump, in one of the first acts of presidency, signed an executive order early in February accusing South Africa of grabbing land from white farmers, supporting “bad actors” such as Hamas and Iran and persecuting white Afrikaners. Over the months the “persecution” charge morphed into waging “genocide”.
South Africa’s ambassador to Washington, Ebrahim Rasool, was declared persona non grata.
Initially President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government did all it could to reason with the Trump administration, but Lamola changed tack in November when, during a CNN interview, he accused Washington of pursuing a “white supremacy” agenda.
In an interview with the Sunday Times this week, he said this was a last resort following a litany of false statements by the world’s most powerful leader.
“Over time, it became clear that we are dealing with an ideological issue because South Africa is diverse and the antithesis of what the MAGA [Make American Great Again] movement stands for. It became clear that we do need to clarify the misinformation from time to time,” Lamola said.
“Even when we were still measured, we still protected the sovereignty of the country, and that is why when you look at the G20 summit agenda, [the US] wanted us to change the theme but we remained firm. But after a decision was made that Deputy President JD Vance is not going to come and the US will no longer participate, it became clear that the strategy had to change from that context because the conditions had now changed.”
Lamola had experience of standing up to a populist strong-man — in this case Jacob Zuma — during his days as deputy president of the ANC Youth League. In 2012 he backed Kgalema Mothlanthe rather than Zuma and five years later he supported Ramaphosa.
The image of Lamola agitating for the removal of Zuma in the wake of the Constitutional Court’s Nkandla judgment in 2016, in which it upheld public protector Thuli Madonsela’s scathing report on upgrades to his homestead, catapulted him to political stardom.
Lamola downplays the idea that Ramaphosa gave him his powerful cabinet post to position him as a contender for the ANC leadership.
There is no justification for them in wanting to punish us for enforcing the law. There is no basis at all… They demand respect from the world, we also must be respected
— Foreign minister Ronald Lamola
“I don’t know whether that was his intention or not, but what I can say is that I appreciate working with him because I have learnt a lot from him. He is evidence based and it’s either he agrees or not based on the substance of the document, and he will guide and have his own views.”
Lamola describes Ramaphosa as a mentor. “He has been like a father figure to me, guiding me on some issues, not only on G20 but geopolitical issues. His contribution has been invaluable.”
The latest twist in Washington’s campaign against South Africa came this month when home affairs officials ordered the arrest of seven Kenyans hired by the US state department to process applications for refugee status by Afrikaners. The Kenyans, who were not on diplomatic premises, were doing paid work despite only having tourist visas.
The US embassy issued a heated response, saying Washington would not tolerate such behaviour. “Failure by the South African government to hold those responsible accountable will result in severe consequences,” it said.
Lamola, speaking before the embassy published its statement, said South African authorities were only upholding the law — the same kind of law that the US was enforcing at home.
“Even the US is busy enforcing immigration laws, ensuring that its laws are respected; we are doing the same. They can’t hide behind diplomacy for breaking the law. When there are diplomatic concerns, we always provide them an opportunity. We always engage with them and afford them diplomatic courtesy.
“We can’t be punished for enforcing our laws. There is no justification for them in wanting to punish us for enforcing the law. There is no basis at all… They demand respect from the world, we also must be respected,” he said.
In January, relations with Rwanda turned hostile over South Africa’s ill-fated military role in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where South African troops were fighting rebels backed by Kigali.
At one stage, Kagame posted on X: “What has been said ... by President Ramaphosa himself contains a lot of distortion, deliberate attacks, and even lies ... If South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day.”
Lamola said: “We were very angry with those statements. But we had a choice to make, whether to be emotional in that very precarious situation that was unfolding in the DRC. We decided the best path was not to be emotional, not to respond with emotions but focus on the task at hand.
“South Africans expected us to insult [Kagame] back and be emotional, but the question would have been to what end. We had soldiers on the ground, and the situation was very precarious; it could have tilted in any direction. So, our words were very important to support the diplomatic efforts.
“We had to ensure we don’t lose the objective of achieving peace based on words. Words sometimes can cause civil wars but you have to assess whether it’s an ego issue or sovereignty and goals which have to be achieved… That is why even with all those unpalatable words we opened lines of communication because our role was to assist the peace process,” he said.
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