/ 11 July 2010

UK reporter ordered to leave SA

British journalist Simon Wright is the 19th foreigner declared a prohibited person for offences committed during World Cup, the department of home affairs said on Sunday.

Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zama has officially declared Wright an undesirable person and has ordered him to leave South Africa, said home affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa.

Wright paid a R750 admission of guilt fine on Saturday for making a booking at a Camps Bay hotel under an assumed name, in contravention of the Immigration Act.

The person he booked into the hotel, Pavlos Joseph, had entered the England team’s change-rooms and confronted former England captain David Beckham over the team’s poor performance against Algeria.

Jennifer Rovero, a friend of United States socialite Paris Hilton, was also declared undesirable person after she was caught in possession of marijuana at a World Cup game in Port Elizabeth.

Mamoepa said the other people on South Africa’s visa and entry stop list included Argentina hooligans and British citizens. They would not be able to obtain visas, would not be admitted to the country and would not be eligible for temporary or
permanent resident status. – Sapa