Ebrahim Rasool, the South African ambassador to the US, returned to a warm welcome in his home country on Sunday.
Rasool, who was expelled from the US and declared persona non grata by US President Donald Trump's administration was received at Cape Town International Airport by hundreds of supporters who sang songs for him.
"A declaration of persona non grata is meant to humiliate you. But when you return to crowds like this, and with warmth ... like this, then I will wear my persona non grata as a badge of dignity. It was not our choice to come home, but we come home with no regrets," he told the crowds and reporters, in his first comments since being expelled.
He had been given until Friday to leave the US.
Why was South Africa's ambassador expelled?
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week Rasool was expelled after he described Trump's Make America Great Again movement as part of "a supremacist instinct" in the United States. He was speaking at a webinar organized by a South African think tank.
Rasool also spoke about Trump's crackdown on diversity and equity programs and immigration policies.
Last month, the US cut funding to South Africa after accusing the government of supporting Hamas and Iran.
Trump also accused the country of pursuing anti-white policies by grabbing land from white farmers, without providing any evidence. He also welcomed the farmers to settle in the US.
Rasool said it was important for South Africa to fix its relationship with the US.
"We don't come here to say we are anti-American. We are not here to call on you to throw away our interests with the United States," he said.
Rasool also said that South Africa will resist pressure to drop its case against US ally Israel at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
The former anti-apartheid campaigner is due to report to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday.
