South African authorities have arrested seven Kenyan nationals and ordered their deportation for allegedly working without proper documentation at a centre linked to a United States refugee resettlement programme, the Department of Home Affairs said on Wednesday.
The arrests followed a raid on a processing facility in Johannesburg on Tuesday, where officials said the Kenyans were found working despite holding only tourist visas, in violation of their entry conditions. The department said they have been issued deportation orders and barred from re-entering South Africa for five years.
According to the government, the individuals were involved in processing applications under a US-backed programme offering refugee status to white Afrikaners, a policy introduced by the administration of President Donald Trump in May. Pretoria has strongly rejected US claims that Afrikaners face persecution or “genocide” in South Africa.
The Home Affairs Department said the raid was prompted by intelligence reports indicating that Kenyan nationals had entered the country on tourist visas and taken up employment at the application centre. It added that no US officials were arrested and that the operation did not take place at a diplomatic facility.
US refugee processing in South Africa is handled by the Resettlement Support Center Africa, operated by the US-based Church World Service. Following reports of the raid, US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott described any interference in US refugee operations as “unacceptable” and said Washington was seeking clarification from South African authorities.
South Africa said it had engaged both US and Kenyan officials over the matter, stressing that no refugee applicants were harassed during the operation. The department also raised concerns that foreign officials may have been coordinating with undocumented workers, calling it a potential breach of diplomatic protocol.
The refugee initiative has already seen about 50 Afrikaners flown to the United States in May, with additional departures reported since then. In October, the Trump administration announced plans to admit 7,500 refugees in the 2026 fiscal year, down sharply from levels under the previous US administration, with a large share reportedly allocated to Afrikaners.
Relations between Washington and Pretoria have deteriorated since Trump returned to office, with disputes over South Africa’s domestic policies, the expulsion of its ambassador from the US in March, and the imposition of steep trade tariffs. South Africa has consistently denied allegations of discrimination against Afrikaners, arguing that crime and inequality affect the wider population and that post-apartheid reforms aim to address historical injustices.
