A diplomatic row between South Africa and the United States has emerged following the arrest of seven Kenyan nationals accused of working illegally at a centre processing US refugee applications for white South Africans.
The South African Department of Home Affairs confirmed the arrests earlier this week. The centre is operated by the US-backed Refugee Support Centre Africa (RSC Africa) and processes claims from Afrikaners seeking asylum in America based on US claims of persecution.
South Africa has accused the US of using Kenyan nationals without work permits at a facility processing applications by white South Africans for refugee status.
Seven Kenyans were arrested after intelligence reports revealed that people “had recently entered South Africa on tourist visas and had illegally taken up work” at the centre, said a statement from South Africa’s department of home affairs.
The US responded by accusing South Africa of “interference” in its efforts to admit white Afrikaners as refugees.
The US is offering asylum status to Afrikaners as it says the community is facing persecution. South Africa’s government has rejected the claims.
The US has reduced its yearly intake of refugees from around the world from 125,000 to 7,500, but says it will prioritise Afrikaners, who are mostly descendants of Dutch and French settlers.
This is one of the issues that have caused a sharp deterioration in relations between South Africa and the Trump administration.
South Africa says the Kenyan nationals arrested in Tuesday’s raid will now be deported and will be banned from entering the country for five years.
They had previously been denied work visas but were found “engaging in work despite only being in possession of tourist visas, in clear violation of their conditions of entry into the country”, the statement said.
The US State Department further issued a forceful condemnation, framing the arrests as an attack on its humanitarian operations. “We condemn in the strongest terms the South African government’s recent detention of US officials performing their duties to provide humanitarian support to Afrikaners,” the statement read.
It further accused South African authorities of releasing the passport details of its personnel, calling it “an unacceptable form of harassment.”
South Africa’s government has denied this, asserting it treats “data security with the utmost seriousness” and clarifying that no US diplomatic officials were detained.
Written by Were Kelly
Source: BBC NEWS
