9 days after his expulsion from US, Ambassador Rasool set to return to Cape Town

CAPE TOWN - Expelled ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool, is due to return to Cape Town on Sunday after being booted out by the Trump administration nine days ago, ostensibly for making remarks it perceived to be obscene.
 
Just three months ago, farewells were held for him across the city and on Sunday, many of those wellwishers are expected to welcome him back.
 
On Thursday, the Presidency appealed to supporters not to engage in any activity that may be perceived to be inflammatory and worsen already strained relations with the US.
 
The African National Congress (ANC) in the Western Cape, where Ambassador Rasool was its Premier, says it will be among those to receive him when he lands at the Cape Town International Airport on Sunday.
 
While his first term as ambassador in 2010 was perceived to have been fairly successful, this time around Rasool was given just a week to leave the US, without an opportunity to explain his remarks delivered at a seminar of the Mapungubwe Institute.
 
International relations senior researcher, Gustavo de Carvalho, said there would be arguments both for and against whether Rasool acted inappropriately.
 
"Certainly it does provide to the United States, at least from a narrative point of view, an argument that this person is not welcome in this country. This person is actually going against our interests, and we do not want him as the main South African voice in our bilateral interactions."
 
The Presidency said this week it would not rush into deciding on a replacement for its US mission.