Who orders and who carries out deportations? And why do some people who get told to leave get to stay anyway? Jefferson Chase of Deutsche Welle (DW) untangles Germany’s complex and multilayered rules about who can be deported under what circumstances. ———————— Who decides whether someone should be deported? You might think that would be the task of the Federal Ministry of …

Hundreds of people are feared dead in Sierra Leone’s capital city following a massive mudslide. Dozens of houses were submerged in mud after heavy rain caused a hillside to collapse in the mountain town of Regent on the outskirts of Freetown. Some reports put the death toll as high as 200. As many as 60 children are thought to be …

Ghana’s central bank has revoked the operating licenses of two distressed local banks and transferred their deposits and selected assets to state-owned GCB Bank in order to protect financial stability, it said on Monday. The liquidation of UT Bank and Capital Bank became necessary in order to protect depositors funds owing to the “severe impairment” of their capital, the central …

Fifteen young African entrepreneurs have emerged as finalists from a field of more than 800 applicants for the seventh annual Anzisha Prize, Africa’s premier award for her youngest entrepreneurs. Supported by African Leadership Academy (ALA) in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, the Anzisha Prize celebrates and cultivates the next generation of young African entrepreneurial leaders who are creating job opportunities, …

Kenyans largely ignored an opposition call to go on strike on Monday, re-opening shops and returning to work as they shrugged off demands for demonstrations against President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election and against the killing of protesters. Cars, buses and motorcycles returned to the streets of the capital, Nairobi, and the western town of Kisumu after days of quiet due to …

The Nigerian accused of killing Soopika P., a refugee aid worker, in the western German town of Ahaus on 11 February has gone on trial in the western city of Münster Prosecutors argue the asylum-seeker became possessive of the22-year-old victim after a brief affair. The 28-year-old defendant remained silent during his appearance in the Münster Regional Court on Monday. Prosecutors …

A “great illusion” prevails in Germany over the deportation of failed asylum applicants, Bavarian premier Horst Seehofer argued, adding it is unrealistic to expel all migrants once they are in the country. It is much more humane for European countries to protect common borders and decide on the spot whom to allow in than to accept migrants en masse and …

An 18-year-old Italian woman who applied for a job at a local shop was reportedly refused the position because she is in a relationship with an African man, according to Italian media. Chiara Del Gaudio applied for the job in Torino, Piedmont region, after seeing an advert posted on the internet and was soon contacted by the shop’s owner, according …

One of the recipients of the MoneyGram-sponsored “Afrika! Community Award 2017” is an organization that carries out diabetes enlightenment campaign in Africa. Femi Awoniyi writes on how a Diaspora initiative is making a positive impact in the continent. There are hundreds of African organisations in Germany working in different fields to make an impact not only on their community in …

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has been declared winner of the 2017 presidential election, wining a second term in office. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati announced the final results on Friday in the capital Nairobi. “Uhuru Kenyatta garnered 8,203,290 votes representing 54.27 per cent of votes. He has attained 25 per cent in 35 counties,” Chebukati …

The head of the European Union’s election observer mission in Kenya said on Thursday it had seen no signs of “centralised or localised manipulation” of the voting process. Marietje Schaake said that the EU mission’s final report would evaluate the conduct of the tallying process, which opposition leader Raila Odinga said had been compromised by hackers. The EU said candidates …

Forty-one Nigerians deported from seven European countries for committing immigration-related offences arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Thursday (10 August). The Nigerians were deported from Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Denmark. The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, learned that the aircraft with registration mark EC-120 which flew in the deportees, comprising 35 males and six …

Kenya’s main opposition coalition party National Super Alliance (NASA) has called on the electoral commission to declare its candidate Raila Odinga as president. In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, in the presence of Raila Odinga, NASA campaign chief Musalia Mudavadi said they had received data from unnamed IEBC sources that indicate that their candidate is in the lead. “The …

Following President Paul Kagame’s 99% election win, his former chief of staff, Theogene Rudasingwa*, speaks out against the international community’s uncritical support for the president and he explains why the Rwandan leader seeks to remain in power indefinitely. On 4 August, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame was re-elected with a near-perfect vote of 99%, earning himself a place in history alongside …

President Jacob Zuma of South Africa again survived a no-confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday in the most serious attempt yet to unseat him after months of growing anger over alleged corruption and a sinking economy. Zuma had survived six previous attempts to dislodge him in parliament, but this was the first to be held by secret ballot after parliamentary …

More than 50 migrants from Somalia and Ethiopia were “deliberately drowned” when a smuggler forced them into the sea off Yemen’s coast, the UN migration agency said Wednesday, calling the drownings “shocking and inhumane.” International Organization for Migration (IOM) staffers found the shallow graves of 29 of the migrants on a beach in Shabwa during a routine patrol, the agency’s …

The annual summer season of African music and culture in Germany, which has been in full swing since April, is slowly nearing its close. However, there are still some outstanding festivals still to take place. Here are 7 Top Festivals, holding from now until the end of summer, promising an unforgettable experience: Afrika Karibik Festival Aschaffenburg  10 – 13 August …

The biggest festival dedicated to African filmmaking in Germany will mark an important milestone from 21 September to 1 October 2017. About 80 new feature films, documentary films and short films will be presented in the presence of 20 directors as Afrika Film Festival celebrates 25 years of its existence in Cologne. In June 1992, the organisation FilmInitiativ Köln e.V. …

With voting over and counting underway, a crisis is brewing in Kenya, which held a general election on Tuesday. Over 80% of the results have been announced and the opposition is trailing the incumbent by over 1.2 million votes. On Wednesday morning, the election commission website showed Kenyatta leading with 54.4 per cent of the votes against 44.8 per cent …

A group of Tunisian fishermen blocked the boat of far-right movement ‘Generation Identity’ from docking at the port of Zarzis in the southeast of Tunisia , dealing the latest blow to a controversial mission aimed at disrupting the flow of migrant boats from North Africa to Europe. The Identitarians had chartered the vessel C-Star to run their anti-migrant mission ‘Defend …