By Emmanuel Nduka Obisue
South African immigration and law enforcement officials have raided a centre processing applications for a United States refugee programme and arrested seven Kenyan nationals for allegedly working illegally, the Department of Home Affairs said on Wednesday.
The centre, located in Johannesburg, has been handling refugee applications from white South Africans under a new initiative introduced by the administration of US President Donald Trump, which gives Afrikaners priority consideration for resettlement in the United States.
According to the Home Affairs Ministry, the Kenyan nationals were working alongside US officials at the facility despite entering South Africa on tourist visas that do not permit employment. No US officials were detained during Tuesday’s raid, and authorities stressed that the centre does not have diplomatic status.
The operation is expected to heighten tensions between Pretoria and Washington. Since returning to office, President Trump has repeatedly accused South Africa of violently persecuting its white Afrikaner minority and pursuing what he describes as an anti-American foreign policy — claims that have been widely rejected by the South African government.
Despite dismissing the allegations, the Trump administration went ahead with the refugee programme for Afrikaners. South Africa’s government maintains that white South Africans do not qualify for refugee status because they are not subject to persecution, but says it will not prevent individuals from applying for relocation under the US scheme.
Home Affairs officials did not immediately specify who employed the Kenyan nationals. However, the US Embassy in South Africa has previously said that Washington contracted a Kenya-based firm, RSC Africa, to process the applications. RSC Africa is operated by Church World Service, a US-based humanitarian organisation involved in refugee assistance worldwide.
In its statement, the Home Affairs Ministry said Kenyan workers had earlier been denied visas to enter South Africa for employment related to the programme, raising concerns about why those who entered on tourist visas were working at the centre.
“The presence of foreign nationals apparently coordinating with undocumented workers naturally raises serious questions about intent and diplomatic protocol,” the ministry said.
South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation has initiated formal diplomatic engagements with both the United States and Kenya to address the issue.
The seven Kenyan nationals have been issued deportation orders and banned from re-entering South Africa for five years, authorities confirmed.
