South African police say they have arrested a wanted fugitive French-born Beninese activist Kemi Seba while he was allegedly attempting to flee to Europe through Zimbabwe.
Seba, whose real name is Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi, is wanted in Benin on charges of inciting rebellion after supporting last year's foiled coup there.
He was arrested on Monday alongside his 18-year-old son in a sting operation at a shopping centre in Pretoria. A facilitator who had allegedly been paid to help them illegally cross to Zimbabwe was also detained.
Seba, 45, is known for opposing French influence in Africa and backing West Africa's military leaders, while being accused of spreading Russian propaganda.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the father [Seba] is allegedly a wanted fugitive in France and Benin for criminal activities relating to crimes against the state, according to South Africa's police.
The police confirmed that the individual who assisted Seba and his son had been paid about 250,000 South African rand ($15,000; £11,000) to help them move across the Limpopo River into Zimbabwe, intending to further proceed to Europe.
They remain in police custody after appearing in court on Wednesday, with the case moved to April 20, and plans for Seba's extradition under way.
He has not commented on the allegations against him.
Seba was born in France to parents from Benin and is a prominent figure with 1.5 million followers online. He heads the NGO Pan-Africanist Emergency, which promotes issues related to African sovereignty and solidarity.
He has been sentenced in France several times for inciting racial hatred and is often accused of anti-Semitism.
In 2024, he was stripped of his French citizenship, responding by burning his passport in public, claiming he had been freed from the burden of French nationality.
Thomas Gassilloud, then chairman of the National Assembly's defense committee in France, accused him of being a mouthpiece for Russian propaganda and serving a foreign power that fuels anti-French sentiment.
The same year, he was granted a Niger diplomatic passport that designated him a special adviser to the junta leader Abdourahamane Tchiani.
Seba has expressed support for military leaders in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, which have halted military cooperation with France against Islamist militants and started working with Russia instead. He played a visible role in the aftermath of a failed coup in Benin on December 7, where soldiers claimed to have overthrown the president, only to be thwarted within hours with assistance from Nigeria and France.
He had posted a video declaring it was the day of liberation for his country, leading to an international warrant issued for his arrest in connection with the coup.
