According to the US embassy in South Africa, Brown assumed the role of Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Mission to South Africa in August 2024. She is retiring from the US Foreign Service in March and returning to the United States to spend more time with her family after a notable career in international diplomacy,” the US Embassy said.

   “The US Department of State has selected David Greene, the current Deputy Chief of Mission in Abuja, Nigeria, to serve as Chargé d’Affaires at the US Mission to South Africa, ensuring continuity in leadership and the advancement of US priorities,” it said.

   His appointment comes a week after Brown represented the US at the first foreign ministers meeting held under South Africa’s G20 presidency.

   Brown’s most recent assignments include leading the Office Southern European Affairs, covering Türkiye, Greece, Cyprus, and Malta, and serving as Deputy Chief of Mission in the US Embassy in Bern, Switzerland, where she advocated for closer Swiss security integration with NATO members and cooperation on emerging technologies.”

Her resignation follows that of the former ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, a member of the Democratic Party under former US President Joe Biden.

   The ties between South Africa and the US have been in the spotlight after Trump halted funding to South Africa. He signed an executive order against the country which alleges human rights issues regarding the government’s land policy. “South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

   “I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”

   The relationship between the two countries began to show cracks in 2022 when Brigety claimed that South Africa supplied Russia with arms, which he said were loaded on the Russian vessel. The docking of the cargo ship became the subject of controversy in recent months, with allegations surfacing that South Africa was supplying weapons to Russia amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

  While an investigation into the matter found that there was no evidence to substantiate the claim that Lady R transported weapons from South Africa to Russia, the release of the “executive summary” of the findings of an investigative panel appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa raised more questions than answers.

   “Due to the classified nature of the evidence that informed the report, the government will not publicly engage further on the substance of the report,” it said.