South African authorities have arrested seven Kenyan nationals and plan to deport them after they were found working without proper documentation on a U.S. government programme that provides refugee status to white Afrikaners. The Department of Home Affairs confirmed the arrests on Wednesday, stating that the individuals were working illegally at a centre processing applications for resettlement to the United States. The development comes amid controversy over a policy announced in May by the Trump administration, which offered refugee status to members of the white Afrikaner minority, citing claims of discrimination and alleged “genocide,” which the South African government has consistently denied.
South African officials said the U.S. government had engaged Kenyan nationals affiliated with a Christian NGO based in Kenya to assist with processing applications under the programme. During a raid on a Johannesburg processing centre on Tuesday, authorities discovered “seven Kenyan nationals engaging in work despite only holding tourist visas, in clear violation of their entry conditions.”
The department said the individuals were arrested, issued deportation orders, and barred from re-entering South Africa for five years. The operation followed intelligence that several Kenyan nationals had entered the country on tourist visas and unlawfully taken up employment at the facility handling applications for the programme.
Although President Trump largely suspended refugee admissions after taking office in January, an exception was made for Afrikaners—a move Pretoria says is based on unfounded claims of persecution. In May, around 50 Afrikaners, descendants of early European settlers in South Africa, were flown to the U.S. on a chartered aircraft, with additional groups reportedly travelling in smaller numbers on commercial flights.
South African authorities clarified that no U.S. officials were arrested during the raid and that the operation did not take place at a diplomatic site. They also confirmed that no prospective refugees were harassed and that both U.S. and Kenyan officials were engaged on the matter. Relations between Washington and Pretoria have been tense since Trump returned to office, with the U.S. criticising South Africa over multiple policy issues, expelling its ambassador in March, and imposing 30 percent trade tariffs.
Responding to the raid, U.S. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott called interference with American refugee operations “unacceptable” and said Washington is “seeking immediate clarification from the South African government and expects full cooperation and accountability.”
Source: https://m.lindaikejisblog.com/
