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Bey, who is free on bail, will appear in court on March 8,
officials said on Wednesday.
The entertainer was arrested on Thursday in Cape Town when he
produced a "World Passport" to get on a flight to Ethiopia.
The World Passport is a document issued by a non-profit
organization called World Service Authority. South Africa does
not recognize it, making it illegal for anyone to try to use it
as a travel document, the Home Affairs department said.
Bey, who has lived in Cape since 2013, called his arrest
illogical and unjust in a post on fellow rapper Kanye West's
website. (www.kanyewest.com)
"I'm being prevented from leaving, unjustly, unlawfully, without
any logical reason," he said.
The World Passport was not a fictitious document as claimed by
South African government officials, he said.
Citing the United Nations' right to freedom of movement, the
World Service Authority has been issuing World Passports since
1954. Many countries do not accept the passport either as travel
document or a formal identity but WSA claims countries such as
Togo, Mauritiania, Ecuador, Zambia, Tanzania have accepted the
30-page document in the past.
Authorities have also ordered Bey's wife and child to leave
South Africa by January 29 because they had overstayed their
visit.
Born Dante Terrell Smith, Bey, also played roles in films such
as "The Italian Job", "Brown Sugar" and Cadillac Records.
(Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by James Macharia and
Angus MacSwan)
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