By Abraham Kwame, Anadolu Agency, April 23, 2026
Hery Djehuty, international coordinator and number 2 of the NGO "Urgences Panafricanistes", denies the information announcing that Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi, alias Kemi Seba, has filed an asylum application in South Africa.
Contacted by Anadolu, Djehuty clarified that it was one of the lawyers defending Kemi Seba who made a statement to that effect after the hearing on April 20, 2026 before the Pretoria Magistrates' Court in South Africa.
"We are not yet at the point of applying for asylum, no decision has been made. I take this opportunity to refute that," Hery Djehuty stated.
He reports that the lawyer in question was immediately dismissed following this announcement. The international coordinator of Pan-African Emergencies indicates that such a course of action cannot be taken before the hearing on April 29. "We will submit our recommendations and wishes through our lawyers at the legal level; we will not discuss this in any way through the press," he insisted.
Kemi Seba, arrested and detained in South Africa since April 13, made his first appearance before the Pretoria Magistrates' Court on April 20 and is due to appear again on April 29.
A leading figure in Pan-Africanism, he was apprehended along with his son Khonsou Seba Capo Chichi and South African François Van de Merwe. They are being prosecuted for attempted illegal immigration.
According to South African police, they were trying to cross the border illegally into Zimbabwe. François Van de Merwe was allegedly the smuggler who was to organize the journey for a fee.
Following the arrest of Kemi Seba in South Africa, the special prosecutor of the Court for the Repression of Economic Crimes and Terrorism in Benin (Criet) announced that the Beninese justice system will introduce an extradition request against the pan-Africanist leader who is the subject of two arrest warrants.
One warrant was issued in June 2025 for money laundering, and the other following the failed coup attempt of December 7, 2025, against President Patrice Talon. In the latter, he is being prosecuted for condoning crime and inciting hatred and violence. Kemi Seba made a video supporting the mutineers on the day of the failed coup.
Regarding the extradition request, Hery Djehuty told Anadolu that the procedure is doomed to failure. He believes the case presented by the Beninese justice system is empty and cannot convince the South African courts.
"The opposing side's strategy is to accumulate accusations in order to try to arrive before the South African courts with a strong case, saying that he has advocated a coup d'état and that he has also engaged in economic shady dealings, and therefore send him back to Benin to be tried. None of this will stand up to the test of facts," assures Hery Djehuti.
Djehuty also reports having discovered the money laundering warrant during the press conference of the special prosecutor of the Criet. "We are told about an arrest warrant for money laundering that was allegedly issued in June 2025. Do you seriously think for a single second that such an accusation, if it had been proven, if it had been founded, there would not have been prior communication?" asks the number 2 of Urgences Panafricaniste.
He cites as an example the media frenzy surrounding the arrest warrant against Kemi Seba after the failed coup of December 2025 in Benin.
For Hery Djehouty, this arrest warrant for money laundering is nothing more than a setup to lend credibility to the extradition request for Kemi Seba. "When you want to kill your dog, you accuse it of having rabies. Kemi Seba's crime of lèse-majesté is challenging the governance of Patrice Talon, so what do we do? When we can't confront someone on the level of ideas, we criminalize their ideas," asserts Seba's closest collaborator.
In his interview with Anadolu, Hery Djehuty assures that Kemi Seba is facing the ordeal he is going through in South Africa with his head held high.
"I had the opportunity to see him after the hearing on April 20 and I recognized the president of our NGO with the same temperament, the same character, the same determination," reported the international coordinator of Pan-African Emergencies.
Posted May 28, 2026