"Did You Expedite It Because He Plays Rugby?": Vincent Tshituka’s Citizenship Divides SA

• Congolese-born Springboks flanker, Vincent Tshituka, who was once a child refugee, made his Test debut after officially becoming a South African citizen
• Home Affairs Minister, Leon Schreiber, made the confirmation in a post he shared on X
• South Africans have been divided by this, with some expressing their dissatisfaction online

South Africans have reacted to the recent naturalisation of Congolese-born Springboks player Vincent Tshituka. He made his debut in the 54-7 victory against the Barbarians in June. He had been ineligible to play for the Boks because he had not yet obtained South African citizenship.

What did the Home Affairs Minister say?

In a post on X, the Home Affairs Minister, Leon Schreiber, announced that Vincent, alongside his brother Emmanuel, became citizens of South Africa after being naturalised.

"Vincent and Emmanuel Tshituka came to SA as child refugees from the DRC. Yesterday, I had the honour of watching Vincent make his debut for the Springboks after naturalising them. The latest reminder from our Boks is that, no matter our background, we truly are Stronger Together."

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Why was Vincent naturalised?

Vincent arrived in South Africa as a child refugee, fleeing from the Democratic Republic of Congo with his family in 2002 to avoid politically induced violence. He started playing rugby while studying at the University of Johannesburg, even though DRC is not a predominantly rugby-playing nation.

Vincent expressed excitement at the greatest sporting honour of playing for the Springboks and wearing the green and gold. He told reporters how traumatic the whole experience of fleeing Congo was for him.

“I did not go to a rugby-playing school, which was a disadvantage. But at university, I made up for lost time, and it is hard to describe exactly how I feel before facing the Italians. The more difficult your background, the more you appreciate the opportunities life presents. Saturday is going to be an extraordinarily special day for me and my family,” he added.

How did South Africans react to the naturalisation?

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In a country like South Africa, where many citizens have strong feelings about immigrants taking jobs from locals and where ordinary civilians often struggle to obtain documents like birth certificates and IDs, the reactions were bound to be heated.

Many felt the naturalisation process was expedited because Tshituka is a rugby player, not an ordinary citizen.

@Noma_here

"Did you expedite coz they play for the Springboks or? Did you see the video of a South African guy who's listed as dead by HA and has been asking for help from you coz he's been sent from pillar to post by your guys? 🤔 Provide personal service to him, too."

@capesocialist

"Will we accept refugees from Palestine or just the cowards from Yaffa?"

@LugileK

"The minister who works. Dudula is not like that."

@Zani_Baccaria

"This is the feel-good story of the year. HOWEVER. We need to see the same action and energy when it comes to deporting illegals. Not just securing our borders, but sending the millions of illegals back to where they came from. 😉"

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@RamaphiriMpho

"Phela they need voters 🥴🥴"

@ThuliSaul

"Uyanyanyisa ...."

@Tebonwanjang

"The stories of immigrants and refugees as nation builders are often not told boldly. Thank you @Leon_Schreib for putting their story out there. At @AlkebulanAwards we work to ensure stories like this and many others are told. Boldly."

@Mjudana

"Now try doing the same to a native-born African South African that’s from Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal or Eastern Cape. Y’all like these silly tactics that fuel hatred amongst Africans, and don’t tell us you don’t know the message you’ve just sent to the SA public by doing this!"

@Patriot_Girll

"The plan is always to replace black SAns in everything, sies I hate this DA minister."

@robmartza

"So up to yesterday they had been refugees here since they were kids? So in SA, refugees can stay and stay and stay annnnd? ... Is there no time limit for them to leave?"

@AR59446899

"I’ve often thought that it would be a good idea to scout the DRC, Nigeria, and other West African countries for exceptionally large athletes who could be drafted into the SA schools system, just like our Kiwi mates take from the islanders. We could do the same."

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@ALentswe47881

"DRC, Ghana... I don't have a problem with those guys. Problem is Nigeria."

Tshituka made his official Test debut for the Boks at Loftus in the 42-24 victory against Italy.He is not the first Boks player to have been naturalised, with the Zimbabwean born Tendai"Beast" Mtawarira, one such player. He went on to win 117 caps, making him the most capped Bok.

Jesse Kriel reacts after replacing Kolisi as Boks' captain

Briefly News earlier reported that Kriel broke his silence after being named Springboks captain in the absence of Siya Kolisi for the clash against the Barbarians over the weekend.

The Sharks star was part of the Boks team named by Rassie Erasmus, but suffered an injury before the match and had to be withdrawn from the squad.

Source: Briefly News