THE South African ambassador, who was expelled from the United States and declared persona non grata by the Trump administration, was welcomed home at an airport on Sunday by hundreds of supporters who sang songs praising him.

Crowds at Cape Town International Airport surrounded Ebrahim Rasool and his wife Rosieda as they emerged in the arrivals terminal in their home town.

“A declaration of persona non grata is meant to humiliate you,” Rasool told the supporters as he addressed them with a megaphone. “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.”