Pan-African activist Kemi Seba has been arrested in South Africa and now faces possible extradition to Benin, where authorities accuse him of supporting a failed coup attempt and threatening state security. Seba, whose real name is Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi, was detained in Pretoria in an operation South African police said was linked to immigration violations and an active Beninese warrant.
South African police said Seba was arrested alongside one of his sons and a third suspect. Investigators allege the group was trying to cross illegally into Zimbabwe through the Limpopo River, with plans to continue onward to Europe. The three are accused of conspiracy to commit a crime and immigration-related offences, and Seba remains in custody pending a court appearance scheduled for April 20.
Benin has been seeking Seba since December 2025, when it issued a warrant accusing him of “inciting rebellion” after he publicly backed an attempted coup that was later foiled. Authorities in Cotonou say they are preparing to request his transfer from South Africa so he can face charges that also include threatening state security.
Seba is one of the best-known anti-French political activists in francophone Africa. He leads the group Urgences panafricanistes and has built a large online following through fiery criticism of France, the CFA franc and African governments he sees as aligned with Paris. He has also voiced support for military-led governments in parts of the Sahel, helping make him a polarising figure across the region.
His lawyer, Juan Branco, has denounced the case as politically motivated, arguing that Benin’s authorities are using the judiciary to silence a prominent opponent of President Patrice Talon. That claim is likely to sharpen debate over democratic freedoms in Benin, where opposition figures and civil society groups have increasingly complained of shrinking political space.
The case also comes at a sensitive moment for Benin. The country has just emerged from a tense presidential election season and is still dealing with the fallout from the December coup attempt, which underscored broader instability in West Africa. If extradited, Seba’s trial could become another flashpoint in a region already marked by rising tensions between elected governments, military regimes and militant pan-African movements
