SA government declares Mos Def “undesirable”, singer told to leave immediately

Mos Def, real name Dante Terrell Smith, was declared an “undesirable person” in terms of country’s Section 30 of the Immigration Act. Smith, therefore, no longer qualifies for a port of entry visa or admission to the republic.

In a statement, the department said, “For his conduct, Mr Smith Bey will be declared an undesirable person by the Director-General of Home Affairs in terms of Section 30 of the Immigration Act of 2002.”

“He will therefore not qualify for a port of entry visa or admission to the republic. He will therefore not qualify for a port of entry visa or admission to the republic.”

The statement also reads, “However, Mr Smith Bey may apply for a waiver, for good cause, in terms of Section 2 of the Immigration Act of 2002.”

According to the country’s Home Affairs department, Def’s last arrival in South Africa was last year in November on a visitor’s passport which was allocated 90 days and expired late February this year. The musician had trouble with immigration officials in Cape Town when he attempted to leave the country in January using another document and not his US passport, which he initially used to enter the country. As a US citizen, the artist was lawfully required to use his US passport when travelling.

Def was immediately arrested and charged with breaching immigration laws after attempting to leave the country without a valid passport.

After his arrest, Smith released a voice recording which appeared on Kanye West’s website. The voice recording is also available on YouTube.

Meanwhile, the rapper wrote to the Home Affairs Department and the government, apologising for violating provisions of the country’s immigration laws. In return, the department accepted his apology, withdrew the charges and allowed him to leave the country.

Mos Def has been making frequent visits to South Africa since 2013. His first visit to the country was in June 2013. Since then, the rapper has entered South Africa ten times and has always entered the country on a visitor’s visa (90 days exemption) using a US passport and not a World Passport. World passports are not officially recognised as valid documents in South Africa.