Ramaphosa Booked Off Public Duties on Medical Advice; Lamola to Lead UN Delegation

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has been booked off from public engagements on the advice of his medical team, his office said, following his return from the BRICS leaders' summit in India.

Ramaphosa, 73, came back to South Africa on Monday and was advised to rest and recover, according to a statement from his office. The presidency did not indicate how long his absence from public duties might last.

The statement said Ramaphosa has asked cabinet ministers to stand in for him at scheduled public events wherever possible.

In a separate development, Deputy President Paul Mashatile is also resting on the advice of his doctors after undergoing a medical procedure.

With the president unavailable, Foreign Affairs Minister Ronald Lamola will lead South Africa's delegation to this year's United Nations General Assembly.

Lamola's trip to the United States comes amid renewed diplomatic friction between Washington and Pretoria. The U.S. has imposed visa restrictions on some South Africans over what it describes as race-based discrimination.

President Donald Trump's administration has repeatedly claimed that South Africa's white Afrikaner minority is being persecuted — an assertion Pretoria rejects. South Africa says there is no evidence of discrimination against white citizens and maintains it has the right to pursue policies aimed at addressing the legacy of centuries of racial injustice.