This may be why Naledi Pandor’s visa to the US was revoked

As former minister of international relations Naledi Pandor seeks answers about why her United States visa was revoked, it is possible that a lobby group or an individual may have written to the US government to try to stop her from entering the country.

Pandor, who is also the chairperson of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said she was informed of the decision in an email from the United States Consulate this week, despite having travelled to the US on multiple occasions.

After retiring from politics in 2024, Pandor was granted a multiple-entry visitor’s visa for short-term stays in the US.

Visa revoked

Pandor, who returned from her most recent visit to the US this week, told The Citizen that the US Consulate did not provide any reasons for revoking her visa.

“I received an email indicating my visa has been revoked. I have no further details.”

The Citizen has contacted the US Consulate for comment. This will be included in the story once received.

In July 2025, Pandor delivered the keynote address at the United Nations in New York, calling on leaders, institutions, and individuals to “make good trouble” in pursuit of a more just world.

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Reasons

Speaking to The Citizen, Neeshan Balton, the executive director of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, said Pandor joins a long list of people whom have been denied entry to the US.

“Although they are not providing reasons, I think the reasons are very clear. Anybody who has been seen to be associated in advocating for the Palestinian cause, and more so as the former minister of Dirco [Department of International Relations and Cooperation] in this country and who was central to taking Israel to the ICJ, that would place her on their kind of wanted list, people that they wouldn’t want entry to in the US.

“So, without them giving reasons, I think we can surmise that that is the reason,” Balton said.

Freedom of speech

Balton said revoking Pandor’s visa is not the right thing to do.

“Is this the right thing to do? Obviously not, it denies her and others their freedom of speech, and it’s something that the US had previously prided itself on as a country that advocated for all of these freedoms.

“And lastly, I hope that all of the rankings of freedom in the world, that different institutes do, will now recognise this erosion of fundamental freedoms in the US, and will place it on its appropriate rankings,” Balton said.

ALSO READ: Pandor’s security beefed up amid threats to her and children over ICJ case against Israel

Open letter to the US

On 10 November, former member of the Jewish Board of Deputies and attorney Lawrence Nowosenetz wrote to the US government, published in the Times of Israel, claiming Pandor aligned herself with pro-Palestinian states – Iran and Qatar – during her tenure as minister.

“Dr Pandor, as foreign minister, played a key role in the genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2023. In a three-month window preceding South Africa’s 29 December 2023 ICJ filing, there was a tightly sequenced diplomatic alignment with actors already promoting the same narrative.

“Pandor travelled to Tehran for bilateral meetings with Iranian officials. She and President [Cyril] Ramaphosa had diplomatic meetings with Qatar in Doha. In December 2023, she participated in the “Solidarity with Palestine” conference convened by Mandla Mandela in South Africa. Public records and reports confirm that Palestinian factions affiliated with the PFLP, Hezbollah, Fatah and Hamas were present,” Nowosenetz wrote.

Threats against Pandor

In June, an insider close to the Pandor family told The Citizen that the threats against the former minister and her family have not ceased since South Africa brought Israel before the ICJ for genocide committed against Palestinians in Gaza.

“No, they never stopped. The threats are ongoing and you shouldn’t get too close [to us] because you become a target,” the insider told The Citizen at a function in Gauteng.

In February 2024, while South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ was ongoing, Pandor’s security was beefed up amid threats against her and her family.