Police in South Africa said Thursday they had arrested pan-African activist Kemi Seba, who is wanted in Benin for "inciting rebellion" after he supported a foiled coup in December.

Seba, whose real name is Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi, heads the NGO Pan-Africanist Emergency and is known for his tirades against France and African governments allied with Paris.

He and his 18-year-old son were arrested on Monday at a Pretoria shopping centre with another man who had allegedly been paid to help them illegally enter neighbouring Zimbabwe, police said.

From there, they intended to travel to Europe.

"Preliminary investigations have revealed that the father is alleged to be a wanted fugitive in France and Benin for criminal activities relating to crimes against the state," they said in a statement.

The case was postponed until April 20 and Seba and his son remained in police custody as extradition processes were underway, it said.

International warrant

Benin issued an international warrant for his arrest on December 12 after he supported a foiled coup in which mutinous soldiers claimed on television to have overthrown President Patrice Talon.

The coup attempt on December 7 was put down in a matter of hours by the military with support from Nigeria and France.

Seba, who accuses Talon of being too close to former colonial power France, posted a video declaring it was "the day of liberation" for his country.

The warrant for his arrest was for "justifying crimes against state security and inciting rebellion", Benin authorities said.

The West African country jailed around 30 people after the coup, most of them soldiers, legal sources told AFP, while several mutineers were still on the run.

Born in France to parents from Benin, Seba has been sentenced in France several times. He was stripped of his French nationality in 2024.