South Africa’s Diplomatic Leverage in a Fragmenting World
New Envoys in Pretoria Present Credentials
by Kirtan Bhana and Anisha Pemjee - TDS

Pictured seated (l-r) Ms Phindile Baleni - Director General in the Presidency, Mr John Kalunga Nyakeru of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mr Malik Muhammad Farooq of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mr José Manuel Pascual Garcίa of the Kingdom of Spain, Mr Ali Achoui of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, President Cyril Ramaphosa, Mr Hugo Ignacio Llanos Mardones of the Republic of Chile, Mr Manuel Mauricio Montalvo Samaniego of the Republic of Ecuador, Mr Ekapol Poolpipat of the Kingdom of Thailand, Mr Saša Mart of the Republic of Serbia and Clayson Monyela of Dirco. Standing (l-r) Mr George S.W Patten (Sr) of the Republic of Liberia, Mr Raúl Santiago Ailan of the Republic of Argentina, Mr Mirzozoda Parviz Murodali of the Republic of Tajikistan, Dr Ashraf Khodjaev of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ms Anna-Karin Eneström of the Kingdom of Sweden, Ms Grace Mutembo of the Republic of Zambia, Air Chief Marshal Udeni Priyadarshana Rajapaksa of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Mr Osman Abufatima Adam Mohammed of the Republic of Sudan, Mr Harold Bundu Saffa of the Republic of Sierra Leone and Mr Amedi Camara of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (photo credit: Jairus Mmutle/GCIS)
13 October 2025
The recent presentation of credentials by 18 new Heads of Mission at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria took place on 2 October at a time of accelerating global realignment. What may appear to be ceremonial protocol is, in strategic terms, an indicator of shifting calculations in global power, emerging blocs of influence, and Africa’s expanding role in shaping outcomes rather than absorbing them.