For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines: US Ambassador issued with démarche following undiplomatic remarks; DA wants clarity on senior health officials’ suspensions; And, Senegal doubles maximum penalty for same-sex activity to 10 years' jail

US Ambassador issued with démarche following undiplomatic remarks

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development welcomed the Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s decision to issue a démarche to US Ambassador to South Africa Leo Brent Bozell III, saying remarks he has made cannot be ignored.

Speaking at a business conference in Hermanus on Tuesday, Bozell was quoted as stating, he did not care about South African court rulings that had declared the “Kill the Boer” chant was not hate speech.

Bozell insisted that the chant constituted hate speech despite judicial findings.

Bozell has since apologised for his remarks, clarifying on social media that while he holds personal views on the chant, the US government respects the judicial independence of South Africa’s courts.

Committee chairperson Xola Nqola said it was not acceptable for Bozell to say that these were his personal views and not those of the US government.

DA wants clarity on senior health officials’ suspensions

The Democratic Alliance has questioned whether accountability and consequence management are prioritised in the Department of Health, calling on Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi to clarify the disciplinary suspensions of director-general Sandile Buthelezi and two senior officials.

On Thursday President Cyril Ramaphosa directed Motsoaledi to place Buthelezi, deputy director-general for hospitals services, tertiary health services and human resource development Dr Percy Mahlati and CFO Phaswa Mamogale on precautionary suspension following their arrests on allegations of fraud and theft.

The officials were arrested in an ongoing investigation into allegations of theft and fraud of over R1-million in public funds from the DoH.

The suspensions are said to be until their cases are finalised.

DA spokesperson on Health Michele Clarke questioned the suspensions, though, saying Motsoaledi’s statement did not make clear whether the suspension would apply until the matter is finalised within the criminal justice system, which she said could take years, or whether the Minister was referring to suspension during an internal disciplinary process.

She said the department cannot afford to employ sufficient doctors or nurses let alone to indefinitely pay the salaries of three senior officials accused of corruption, fraud, and theft.

And, Senegal doubles maximum penalty for same-sex activity to 10 years' jail

Senegal's National Assembly last night overwhelmingly passed a Bill doubling the maximum prison term for same-sex sexual acts to 10 years and criminalising any efforts to promote homosexuality.

The law - passed by 135 votes to zero, with three abstentions - fulfils a campaign promise of a government that came to power in 2024, led by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko. It now awaits Faye's signature.

Senegal's penal code already carries an article, last amended in 1966, imposing up to five years' jail and fines of up to 1 500 000 CFA francs ($2 700) for "acts against nature".

The new version doubles the maximum term and allows for fines of up to 10-million CFA francs.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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