South Africa to deport Kenyans involved in US-Afrikaner refugee scheme
outh Africa has arrested and ordered the deportation of seven Kenyan nationals who were illegally working at a centre processing refugee applications for a highly controversial United States resettlement programme aimed at only white Afrikaners. The arrests on Tuesday in Johannesburg followed intelligence reports that the Kenyans had entered the co
untry on tourist visas and taken up employment despite South Africa’s Home Affairs Department having previously denied work visa applications for the same positions. The seven individuals will be banned from re-entering South Africa for five years. The operation has led to a new diplomatic dispute between Pretoria and Washington, adding to tensions that have escalated throughout 2025 over US President Donald Trump’s widely rejected claims that white South Africans face “genocide” and racial persecution. The US State Department told CNN that “interfering in our refugee operations is unacceptable” and said it would seek immediate clarification. CNN reported that two US government employees were briefly detained during the raid, though South Africa’s statement said no American officials were arrested. The Kenyans were working for processing centres run by Amerikaners, a group led by white South Africans, and RSC Africa, a Kenya-based refugee support organisation operated by Church World Service. These organisations handle applications for Trump’s programme, which has brought small numbers of white South Africans to the US this year. Source Aljazeera