World Cup fever has descended on South Africa as the country prepares to host the biggest sporting event in its history. The airports are getting increasingly busy, people everywhere are starting to celebrate and all eyes are on this colourful nation. It is not possible to ignore the FIFA fever, it is written all over the shops, bars, malls and most other public places.

The nation of South Africa has never been made to look so attractive, and yet many Africans resident in the Republic have been chased into neighbouring countries by the police.  This is the unfortunate experience of illegal immigrants who are living in South Africa in the hope that they might become citizens there.

The minister of Police, Mr. Mthetwa, said earlier this month on eTV that, “there is no favour for criminals. They have to leave the country or the police will have to take severe care of them.”

South Africa is known throughout the world for its criminality. The police, who have been trained and equipped by the USA government and other cooperative Western countries, have to make sure that visitors are not in danger during the sporting competition.

The crackdown began with the forced registration of any cell phone number in use in South Africa. There was a big campaign to call for people to register their sim cards and, as of April 15, all firearms had to also be registered. Anyone caught in possession of illegal firearms has to pay the price.

The police have been vigilant in their campaign to rid South Africa of illegal immigrants, which makes life very difficult for honest and hard working foreign nationals seeking sanctuary in the country. With the start of the tournament, some Africans have come face to face with the law when trying to hatch plans to make money during the World Cup period. Eric, a Cameroonian living in Kempton Park, was caught by the Kempton Park police office and jailed for two days. He was later released when his friend vowed that Eric would leave the country before the tournament.

“Right now, I don’t have money to apply for the permit. The only one thing I can do is go and stay in Mozambique. I can’t afford to go back in Cameroon,” Eric lamented. Missing the soccer tournament has been a source of disappointment for the youth.

“I came to South Africa last year to find a job and make some money. I am a welder and a friend of mine told me that there were welding jobs here but I have had trouble finding one.” He added that it would have been great to have the opportunity to support his country during the World Cup.

Another Nigerian man was jailed for a week, even though he holds a valid permit. Okpe Joshua was arrested while he was at work. He is married to a South African woman and is legally allowed to stay in the country on a marriage permit.  The police, however, asked him to call his wife to testify before they would release him. According to the police officer, Thabo, “many Nigerians just get married, get their papers and then ill treat their wives. To the South African law, this fact is a crime and the police are supposed to fight against it.”

Okpe disagrees with the treatment he has received at the hands of the police. “What if my wife passed away after our marriage, shall I die in jail as well?” According to the police, Okpe’s is an irrelevant question as their primary focus is security during the World Cup tournament.

Konate, from Ivory Coast, holds an expired temporary permit, but refuses to leave the country.  His solution was to declare himself a refugee at Home Affairs and get an asylum permit. “We are from Africa and they can’t treat us like this and force us not to witness this lifetime event.”

Fortune, from Zimbabwe, works in an internet café and says he has nothing to lose when going back home to avoid ‘police trouble’. “I don’t want to apply for an asylum permit because it means I have to stay in the country for at least five years. I will go back home and come back to find jobs when the fever is over.”

Those illegal immigrants who have nowhere else to go have gone into hiding. They cannot afford to return home and do not want to be discovered by the authorities and chased out of the country.

Pauline from Zimbabwe came to South Africa two years ago and hasn’t had an opportunity to find a job. “I will close myself in the house and stay until the World Cup is over. I am not going anywhere to have to deal with police interrogation,” she said.

Early last year the South African government recognised the importance of the World Cup being accessible to Africans of every tribe and tongue. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the department of Home affairs made the decision that all visitors needed to attend a World Cup game was a passport and a ticket to one of the matches. However, tickets were very difficult to get a hold of in some African countries.

For Ange Tatiana from Cameroon, “the tickets are so expensive according to our cost of living and life standard. Besides, in Cameroon not everyone can get access to the tickets. I tried to call some friends in the Cameroonian federation of football, but it didn’t seem easy to get tickets in Cameroon.”

The South African decision to facilitate travel to South Africa during the World Cup was welcomed by African nationals, but many have struggled to get visas. Noel Tadegnon, a photojournalist from Togo, is stranded in his home country until his visa comes through. “A week ago, I was going down and up to get the visa for South Africa, but I am still waiting.” For him it might be because he is not accredited by FIFA. However, even journalists who have been accredited still struggle to get the necessary paperwork to enter South Africa. Aminata, a journalist from Mali, is still waiting for her visa.

South Africa is actively fighting criminality at this time, as well as enforcing stringent immigration policies to ensure that after the competition they will not have a lot of extra work on their hands. The question is, how can we talk about the unifying power of the FIFA World Cup when some African nationals are freer to travel than others?

Publication rights to this feature are available from Africa Media Online.