South African Authorities Detain Pan-African Activist Kemi Seba for Visa Overstay and Fugitive Status

Kemi Seba, a prominent pan-African activist, is currently in detention in South Africa after his arrest last week during a sting operation in Pretoria. He was apprehended alongside his son for breaching immigration laws, according to reported details from AFP citing his lawyers.

South African police stated that Seba is allegedly a wanted fugitive in France and Benin for criminal activities relating to crimes against the state.

Seba had been living in South Africa for around five months and overstayed his visa by about two months before the arrest, as per a source close to him cited by AFP in reporting. The arrest occurred while he was allegedly attempting to flee to Europe via Zimbabwe. South African authorities said an extradition process is under way but did not specify which country filed the request.

Benin's special prosecutor Elonmario Metonou said the country is currently preparing an extradition request for Seba. Benin issued two international warrants for him on 12 December 2025. Seba is wanted in Benin for inciting rebellion after allegedly supporting the country's foiled coup in December 2025, and he is also wanted there for money laundering.

Hours after the attempt, Seba declared it a day of liberation in an online video. Pan-Africanist Emergency's international coordinator and second-in-command said Benin's accusations against Seba would not stand up to scrutiny and called the money laundering charges a set-up aimed at strengthening the extradition request.

The second-in-command denied reports that Seba had applied for asylum in South Africa, according to his statements to Anadolu news agency reported by reporting.

Pan-Africanist Emergency urged its followers to remain calm in the face of numerous fake news stories and disinformation campaigns spread by French-African media outlets. The group stated that these manoeuvres only strengthen the legitimacy and scope of Seba's commitment to social justice, sovereignty, and African dignity.

A South African national, leader of Afrikaner nationalist group Bittereinders, was taken into custody for helping Seba and his son.

Seba's bail hearing has been set for 29 April. The activist, whose real name is Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi, was born in Strasbourg, France, to Beninese parents in 1981. He traveled to the US in his youth and was influenced by the Nation of Islam.

Upon his return to France as an 18-year-old, Seba became an ambassador for the Nation of Islam. He founded Tribu Ka in 2004, a group that was banned by the French government in 2006 and dissolved. Seba was sentenced to one month in prison in 2006.

On 28 May 2007, Seba and some followers marched through a predominantly Jewish area of Paris, as reported by Le Figaro in details covered by reporting. Seba has been arrested multiple times, including for inciting racial hatred and antisemitism.

After his release from prison, Seba left France for Senegal. He joined the Movement of the Damned by Imperialism (MDI) and was its president until he resigned in 2010, as per French media reports noted in reporting. In December 2015, Seba launched the NGO Pan-Africanist Emergency, which he still leads.

In August 2017, Seba burned a 5,000 CFA franc note during a protest in Senegal. He was arrested in Senegal in August 2017 but acquitted days later on a technicality. One month after the August 2017 incident, Seba was deported from Senegal to France for posing a serious threat to public order, according to Le Monde citing the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security in Dakar.

Seba was kicked out of Guinea months before August 2018, where he was to address a conference. He was expelled from Togo in August 2018. In 2019, Seba was deported from Ivory Coast to Benin for attempting to hold a rally against French colonialism, and he was briefly arrested upon his arrival in Benin.

Seba was arrested and released during a visit to Benin in 2023. France stripped Seba of his citizenship in July 2024.

One month after July 2024, Niger granted Seba a diplomatic passport. Niger made Seba a special adviser to the junta leader one month after July 2024. Seba was detained by French authorities in 2024 on suspicion of links to the Russian paramilitary group Wagner but later released.

France created the CFA franc in the late 1940s. Fourteen African nations, including Senegal, Benin, and Ivory Coast, still use the CFA franc, which is pegged to the euro with financial backing from the French treasury.