Firebrand activist Kemi Seba's prospect of facing a Beninese judge moved remarkably closer after a South African court rejected his claim of diplomatic immunity.
Activist Semi Keba faces extradition to Benin after court setback
Kemi Seba, on the right, makes a gesture during an interview in Paris on June 28, 2006
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Photo AP/Michel Euler, archives
Through his lawyers, Seba had told court that he was a representative of the government of Niger at the time of his arrest for overstaying his visa in April.
But the court ruled that there was no evidence that the activist had been accredited as a diplomat to South Africa.
The ruling removes a key element Seba's lawyers had relied on to shield him from prosecution and potential extradition.
Seba is sought by Benin over a foiled coup plot. Benin issued an international warrant for the influencer's arrest on December 12 after he supported a foiled coup in which mutinous soldiers claimed on television to have overthrown President Patrice Talon.
He was arrested in South Africa last month alongside his teenage son and a South African man for breaching immigration laws after overstaying his three‑month visitor visa.