Leo Brent Bozell III's arrival in Pretoria marks a pivotal moment in US-SA Relations

When Neil Armstrong landed the Apollo 11 Lunar Module on the Moon on July 20, 1969, he declared: “The Eagle has landed”.

That phrase has come to mean that something or someone of significance had arrived. And this week, a different species of eagle landed in Pretoria, or should we say, it is in the process of landing. Ambassador-designate Leo Brent Bozell III is here, finally – not that I was looking forward to the event. But please fellow South Africans, let’s treat our visitor well. Let’s give him the ubuntu treatment we are known for. Who knows? Maybe he meant what he said before leaving the United States, that he would be seeking a "lasting partnership" and comes with "respect for the South African people”.

Of course, there is the small matter of presenting his credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa before the envoy can delete the “designate” appendage to his title. But knowing the man of processes in charge of our young but proud constitutional democracy, that credentials ceremony will be stage-managed like that historic Moon landing.

It’s quite ironic, though, that the old conservative activist who campaigned against the US talking with the then-banned ANC during the turbulent 1980s is now enjoying the benefits of engaging with a democratic South Africa, united in its diversity.

But focus please. This is a significant moment, signalling a major step change in Washington-Pretoria relations. One small step for Bozell III, one giant leap for our two great democracies.

Here is a priceless opportunity for Pretoria to talk directly to and with Washington.

We don’t have to like Bozell III or agree with his mission or his and his boss’s crazy ideas, especially the ludicrous part about “curbing South Africa’s drift toward the China-Russia-Iran axis” and the attempt to disturb the course of justice with regards to the thorny International Court of Justice matter. Why can’t we all let justice take its course?

South Africa is a constitutional democracy whose foreign relations policy is based on rock-solid foundational principles of democracy, the rule of law and human rights.

Perhaps Bozell III can help curb our two great democracies from drifting away from each other and from the above-mentioned principles.