Mos Def has been arrested in South Africa for violating immigration laws. The rapper and activist, who now goes by Yasiin Bey, was arrested on Thursday at South Africa's Cape Town International Airport for traveling with a fake passport, according to the New York Daily News. He now has just two weeks to leave the country.
The 42-year-old entertainer, whose real name is Dante Terrell Smith, has been living in South Africa since 2013 and was trying to leave with what he was calling a "world passport," which was a fraudulent document that the republic did not recognize. The Department of Home Affairs Spokesman Mayihlome Tshwete explained the incident on Twitter.
"With regards 2 Mr Smith (Mos Def), SAPS (South African Police Service) has charged him with usage of fraudlent travel documents. The matter is currently before the courts," he tweeted Friday morning. "Mr Smith has been living in SA with his family without the necessary permits, he was detained upon departure for using illegal travel docs."
"We are all fans guys...but the law is the law," he wrote, adding that the rapper had come into South Africa with a legitimate U.S. passport but has "since overstayed his visitors permit." They have given him and his family two weeks to leave.
He appeared in a South African court following his arrest, according to The New York Times. A court order not only demanded that he leave within the next 14 days, but has banned him from returning to the country for the next five years.
