The South Africa and Nigeria feud on social media which started as a result of the Foreigners Must Go campaign in SA has just been renewed once again, this time, involving Afrobeat star Ayra Starr.
South Africa has come out with a different version of events Ayra Starr’s alleged visa denial started gaining momentum again.
The South African government says it has no record showing that Ayra Starr or members of her team applied for visas or had any applications rejected.
Speaking to Saturday PUNCH, South Africa’s Consul-General to Nigeria, Prof. Bobby Moroe, said immigration authorities could not find any record matching the claims being circulated.
“The immigration said they were not aware of the application or the rejection,” he said.
Moroe, however, called on those making the allegations to provide more details so the matter could be verified.
“What will assist us is if the people who are making these allegations will send us the names and reference numbers of Ayra Starr and her team, if they were rejected and why they were rejected, so that we can double-check,” he added.
The issue resurfaced after some Nigerian politicians, including former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, called on the Nigerian government to apply the principle of reciprocity if it was confirmed that Ayra Starr and her team had previously been denied South African visas.
The controversy dates back to February 2024, when Ayra Starr’s scheduled performances in Johannesburg and Cape Town were cancelled.
At the time, the concert organisers, Steyn Entertainment, said the cancellation happened because visas for the singer and her team had been denied despite efforts to secure them.
South Africa’s latest response, however, questions whether any visa application or rejection involving the singer and her team exists in its records.