South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says there will be an investigation into the “mysterious” arrival of a chartered plane carrying 153 Palestinians from Gaza into the country.

The group arrived at OR Tambo International Airport but were initially refused entry and were stuck in the plane for more than 10 hours as they “did not have the customary departure stamps in their passports”, local authorities said.

Most were eventually allowed in after intervention from a local charity and because of the government’s “empathy [and] compassion”, Ramaphosa said.

The circumstances of their departure from Gaza and travel to South Africa remain unclear.

South Africa has maintained strong support for the Palestinian cause throughout the war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.

Ramaphosa said the group “somehow mysteriously were put on a plane that passed by Nairobi” and flew to South Africa, reports the News24 site.

Israeli military body Cogat, which controls Gaza’s crossings, said in a statement: “The residents left the Gaza Strip after Cogat received approval from a third country to receive them.” It did not specify the country.

READ ALSO:South Africa Bus Crash Kills 40 Including Malawi, Zimbabwe Nationals

According to the Palestinian embassy in South Africa, the group left Israel’s Ramon Airport and flew to the country via the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, “without any prior note or coordination”.

A statement from the embassy said “an unregistered and misleading organization [had] exploited the tragic humanitarian conditions of our people in Gaza, deceived families, collected money from them, and facilitated their travel in an irregular and irresponsible manner”.

The BBC has asked the Kenyan government for comment.

Of the 153, 23 managed to fly on to other destinations, leaving 130 who were admitted into the country, South African authorities say.

Ramaphosa, speaking during an event in Johannesburg, said he was informed of the unfolding crisis by the home affairs minister.

In response, the president said “we cannot turn them back”, according to News24.

“Even though they do not have the necessary documents and papers, these are people from a strife-torn, a war-torn country.”

The president also told reporters the South African government would carry out a “proper evaluation” of the matter and update the public on “what is happening and how this matter came to be where it is”, according to public broadcaster SABC.

READ ALSO:Palestinians Flee As Israel Intensifies Assault On Gaza City

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said that while Palestinian passport-holders qualified for 90-day visa-exempt access to South Africa, the lack of departure stamps, return tickets or accommodation addresses in some of the travellers’ documentation resulted in the initial refusal to let them into the country.

Once it was established that the absence of this information “did not indicate that the travellers wished to apply for asylum” and their accommodation was confirmed, they were granted entry.

“All of the travellers are in possession of valid passports and, at present, none of them have applied for asylum,” he said.

South African charity Gift of the Givers has said it will provide the group with accommodation in the country.

Civil societies in South Africa have called for investigations into the conditions the Palestinians had fled in Gaza and the exact route of the aircraft.

One of the Palestinians who spoke to local eNCA TV expressed his relief to be in South Africa, describing it as a country of “peace, laws and justice”.

“We came from Gaza where we’ve faced death on daily basis. We have survived a war of two years and we are lucky to be here,” said one man who had fled with his wife and two children.

READ ALSO:Palestinian-American Beaten To Death By Israeli Settlers In Occupied West Bank

Gift of the Givers has since called for Ramaphosa to investigate the home affairs ministry and border authority for the “humiliation they’ve caused” the Palestinians.

The organisation’s founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said this treatment included being forced to wait for hours on the tarmac at the airport, being denied food provided by the group and “using every excuse in the book to prevent these passengers from disembarking”.

South Africa has been highly critical of Israel’s military operation in Gaza.

The country’s sympathy for the Palestinian fight for an independent state goes back decades, particularly the early 1990s when anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela pledged support for the Palestinian cause.

Large pro-Palestinian marches have been held around South Africa since the conflict began.

Smaller pro-Israel marches and rallies have been held in the country, which hosts the largest Jewish community in sub-Saharan Africa.

In 2023, the South African government filed a case against Israel with the International Court of Justice, accusing it of genocide in Gaza. Israel has strongly rejected the South African claim, calling it “baseless”.

The Donald Trump administration has reinstated a sweeping global visa policy that can make it harder for many foreign nationals—including Nigerians—to obtain U.S. visas, as Washington revives its controversial “public charge” rule targeting those deemed likely to depend on public benefits.

A newly issued State Department cable, obtained by Fox News Digital, directed American embassies and consulates worldwide to enforce the policy immediately. The directive, which officials say restores a Trump-era standard relaxed under President Joe Biden, instructs U.S. consular officers to deny visas to anyone considered likely to rely on government assistance in the United States of America.

Under the rule, visa applicants will be assessed on a wide range of personal factors—including their health, age, English proficiency, financial stability, and potential need for long-term medical care.

Consular officers are urged to take a holistic approach, considering everything from the applicant’s visa petition and financial affidavit to their medical report and any other information uncovered during background checks.

READ ALSO:I’ll Support Trump To Fight Terrorism In Nigeria If… – Wike

“You must examine all aspects of the case,” the guidance reads, “including the petition, visa application, medical report, affidavit of support, and any information uncovered in the course of screening and vetting.”

Older applicants, particularly those nearing retirement age, are expected to face extra scrutiny. The cable notes that “long-term institutionalisation (e.g., at a nursing facility) can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per year and should be considered,” suggesting that age and health will play major roles in visa decisions.

The revived rule follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidisation of Open Borders”. The order, according to the State Department memo, aims to ensure “that no taxpayer-funded benefits go to unqualified aliens.”

The cable further stresses that the public charge determination rests solely on the judgment of each consular officer, who must conduct a “comprehensive and thorough vetting” before issuing any visa. “There is no ‘bright line’ test,” the cable adds. “You must consider all aspects of the case and determine whether the applicant’s circumstances… suggest that he is more likely than not to become a public charge at any time.”

READ ALSO:Trump To Receive Full Menu Of Options To Stop Nigeria Genocide – US Rep, Moore

A State Department official told Fox News Digital, “For years, the American taxpayer was held hostage by the Biden administration’s disastrous open borders agenda… The Trump administration has brought an end to the era of mass immigration.”

The U.S. State Department controls visa issuance at embassies abroad, while the Department of Homeland Security manages who is ultimately admitted into the country or allowed to adjust status once inside the U.S. Though both agencies operate under the same immigration laws, the new guidance grants wide latitude to consular officers overseas to reject applicants on “public charge” grounds.

Before now, the Biden administration’s 2022 version of the rule had limited the benefits considered under the policy — counting only direct cash assistance and long-term institutional care, while excluding popular social support programmes such as food stamps (SNAP), Medicaid, housing vouchers, and the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programme.

READ ALSO:Man Grabs Mexico’s President While Meeting Citizens On The Street

The Trump administration had expanded that definition in 2019 to include a broader range of public benefits, though several U.S. courts later blocked parts of the policy before it was scrapped by President Biden in 2021.

This week’s cable now marks a full return to that broader interpretation, instructing American consular officials to “conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting” and to verify all supporting financial documents presented by applicants.

For many Nigerians seeking U.S. visas — from students and workers to elderly immigrants joining family abroad — the revived rule could mean more rejections and lengthier processing times.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday unveiled proposals to boost reporting and prosecution of sexual abuse after she herself was groped in the street in an attack that caused outrage.

Mexico’s first woman president, 63, was assaulted on Tuesday by a drunken man while walking through the streets of the capital.

The assault made global headlines and focused attention on the dangers and harassment suffered by many women in the Latin American country.

Sheinbaum has pressed charges against her attacker for sexual harassment, a charge that in Mexico City covers lewd behaviour and groping.

READ ALSO:Popular Kannywood Actor Passes Away

She has also ordered a review of the widely diverging laws on sexual harassment and abuse across Mexico’s 32 states.

Sexual harassment in public spaces is so prevalent in Mexico that in the last decade, the authorities have created women-only spaces on the metro.

Other cities with similar arrangements include Mumbai and Rio.

“May what happened serve so that women do not feel alone in situations of harassment or abuse… and for this to happen, there must be institutions and a government that supports them,” Sheinbaum told her regular morning press conference.

READ ALSO:Man Grabs Mexico’s President While Meeting Citizens On The Street

The UN says around 70 per cent of Mexican girls and women aged 15 and over will experience at least one incident of sexual harassment in their lives.

Sheinbaum said that 45 per cent had experienced sexual “abuse.”

The man who assaulted her put one arm around her shoulder while she was greeting supporters, and with his other hand touched her hip and chest while attempting to kiss her neck.

A member of Sheinbaum’s security detail pulled him away.

Citlalli Hernandez, Secretary for Women, said more than 25,000 complaints of sexual harassment have been filed so far this year.

READ ALSO:

The scale of the problem is believed to be far greater, however, with many women in Mexico, as elsewhere, hesitant to press charges for fear of being victim-shamed or not taken seriously.

Sheinbaum called for an “efficient and quick” reporting system that truly allows justice to be served,” but gave no details of what that might look like.

The attack raised eyebrows over the left-wing president’s insistence on mixing with the public despite Mexican politicians regularly being a target for cartel violence.

The former Mexico City mayor has ruled out increasing her security.

“We need to be close to the people,” she said.

AFP