US Rapper Mos Def Arrested in Cape Town, Family Told to Leave South Africa
JOHANNESBURG – U.S. rapper Mos Def has been arrested at Cape Town International Airport, and his family have been given two weeks to leave the country, according to news reports. The Department of Home Affairs said on Friday that Mos Def, 42, was accused of contravening immigration laws. He has been living in the country […]
JOHANNESBURG – U.S. rapper Mos Def has been arrested at Cape Town International Airport, and his family have been given two weeks to leave the country, according to news reports.
The Department of Home Affairs said on Friday that Mos Def, 42, was accused of contravening immigration laws. He has been living in the country since 2013.
“The Department of Home Affairs wishes to confirm the arrest of Mr Dante Terrell Smith – also known as Mos Def and/or Yasiin Bey – for contravening the immigration laws of the Republic,” a statement said.
The statement said further that he had been arrested on Thursday and appeared in the Bellville Magistrate Court on Friday.
“He entered the country using a US passport on a tourist visa. On 9 January 2016, Mr Smith attempted to depart the country from the Cape Town International Airport by producing an unrecognised ‘world passport’, which was declined by immigration officials.”
News reports said the rapper had been charged with use of fraudulent travel documents.
The department’s statement said the rapper’s wife, mother and four children had stayed in the country too long and were now here illegally. The department said they had been ordered to leave South Africa within 14 days.