Headline

Germany Opens Doors To 250,000 Kenyan Workers

Published

10 months ago

September 15, 2024

Germany has signed an agreement to allow 250,000 skilled and semi-skilled workers from Kenya to migrate under a new labour migration deal aimed at addressing workforce shortages in Europe’s largest economy.

The agreement, which focuses on controlled and targeted migration, was signed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Kenyan President William Ruto in Berlin.

As Kenya faces increasing challenges in providing employment and adequate income for its young professionals, Germany is experiencing a shortage of skilled labour.

The deal offers a solution to both countries’ issues, creating opportunities for Kenyans to work in Germany while addressing the country’s labour demands.

In a pilot phase of the program, five Kenyan bus drivers have already arrived in Flensburg, northern Germany, as part of the larger plan.

Migration agreements like this one have become a key element of Germany’s broader efforts to manage immigration and labour shortages effectively.

The deal will also simplify the repatriation process for Kenyans who are currently in Germany without legal status.

This comes as immigration remains a contentious issue in Germany, following a rise in the popularity of the far-right anti-immigration party, Alternative for Germany (AfD).

In recent years, Germany has taken in large numbers of asylum seekers, including over one million people fleeing conflicts, such as the Syrian civil war during the 2015-2016 migrant crisis.

Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the country has also received 1.2 million Ukrainian refugees.

Under the labour agreement, Germany has pledged to ease certain immigration laws to enable Kenyans to secure employment.

The deal includes provisions for long-term visas for Kenyans seeking to study or pursue vocational training in Germany.

Kenyan workers who have obtained approved jobs may also have their temporary residence permits extended.

“On the expiry of the long-stay visa, Kenyans may receive a temporary residence permit for study purposes in Germany for up to two years,” the agreement states.

The temporary residence permit may be extended if the purpose of residence has not yet been achieved but is achievable within a “reasonable” period, it adds.

According to the deal, IT specialists from Kenya will be allowed to enter and work in Germany, even if they do not have formal qualifications.

Both governments will support the immigration of skilled workers who have finished vocational training or earned a university degree, as long as their qualifications are recognised by the relevant authorities of the other party

The deal also includes provisions for the readmission and return of citizens between the two nations.

It spells out guidelines to prevent and fight against labour exploitation, forced labour and human trafficking.

While welcoming five Kenyan drivers in Flensburg on Thursday, Schleswig-Holstein’s Transport Minister Claus Ruhe Madsen said Germany was in need of hard-working hands and clever minds.

“We simply have to position ourselves in Germany in such a way that it is attractive to come here,” Mr Madsen added.

The drivers are the first batch of Kenyan workers, who will be trained by the Aktiv bus company in a pilot project, hoping to get a job in Germany.

Doctors, nurses and teachers are among those expected to take part in the programme.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) said the deal was expected to significantly increase access to decent foreign jobs for Kenyan workers in Germany and address labour shortages in Germany.

“It includes mechanisms to protect the rights and welfare of Kenyan migrant workers in Germany, ensuring safe, orderly, and productive migration,” ILO added in a statement.

But there are concerns about a brain-drain in Kenya with professionals like doctors and nurses going abroad for jobs, leaving local hospitals with a huge shortage of medical workers.

“It is sad that we are going to service other countries at the expense of our own country,” Ekuru Aukot, a Kenyan lawyer and politician, told the BBC’s Newsday programme.

But Roseline Njogu, a senior foreign affairs official, said Kenya was simply responding to the global labour market demands.

“We have a youth bulge in Kenya and every year we have a million people joining the local labour market. It takes time and resources to create job opportunities at home,” she added.

Headline

Trump Birthright Citizenship Order Halted In Class-action Suit

Published

1 day ago

July 10, 2025

Editor

A federal judge on Thursday halted President Donald Trump’s order restricting birthright citizenship, as opponents of the policy pursue a new legal avenue following the US Supreme Court’s overturning of a previous block.

The high court’s conservative majority delivered a landmark decision in late June that limits the ability of individual judges to issue nationwide injunctions against presidents’ policies.

Several such judges had in fact blocked Trump’s attempt to end the longstanding rule, guaranteed in the US Constitution, that anyone born on US soil is automatically an American citizen.

However, the Supreme Court left open the possibility that orders could be blocked via broad class-action suits against the government.

Trump’s opponents quickly filed new class-action suits seeking to block again the executive order.

On Thursday, Judge Joseph Laplante of the US District of New Hampshire granted class-action status to any child who would potentially be denied citizenship under Trump’s order. The judge ordered a preliminary halt to it as legal proceedings carry on.

The judge delayed his ruling for seven days to permit the Trump administration to appeal.

Cody Wofsy, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who argued the case, called the ruling a “huge victory” that “will help protect the citizenship of all children born in the United States, as the Constitution intended.”

Trump’s executive order decrees that children born to parents in the United States illegally or on temporary visas would not automatically become citizens — a radical reinterpretation of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.

His administration has argued that the 14th Amendment, passed in the wake of the Civil War, addresses the rights of former slaves and not the children of undocumented migrants or temporary US visitors.

The Supreme Court rejected such a narrow definition in a landmark 1898 case.

The current high court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, avoided ruling last month on the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order and only addressed the issue of nationwide injunctions.

It nonetheless permitted the order to go ahead but delayed its ruling from taking effect until late July to allow for new court challenges.

Several lower courts, in issuing their previous injunctions, had ruled that the executive order violated the Constitution.

Headline

PICTORIAL: Two Undocumented Nigerians Arrested For Drug Trafficking In Libya

Published

1 day ago

July 10, 2025

Editor

Libya’s Counter-Terrorism Forces have arrested two undocumented Nigerians over alleged involvement in drug trafficking.

According to a statement shared by Migrant Rescue Watch on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, the suspects were caught with quantities of hashish and hallucinogenic pills, including Tramadol and Lyrica.

Authorities also recovered a large sum of cash suspected to be proceeds from drug sales during the operation.

Following their arrest, the two Nigerians have been handed over to the appropriate legal authorities for further investigation and possible prosecution.

The statement said, “Counter-Terrorism Forces arrested 2 undocumented #migrants of Nigerian nationality for drug trafficking. The individuals were found in possession of hashish, hallucinogenic pills “Tramadol” & “Lyrica” as well as cash from proceeds.

“Both individuals were referred to competent authorities for legal action.”

Headline

31 Workers Escape Death As Tunnel Collapses In Los Angeles

Published

2 days ago

July 10, 2025

Editor

All 31 workers escaped without injuries from a collapsed industrial tunnel in Los Angeles’ Wilmington area, after scrambling over a tall pile of loose underground soil, city officials said late on Wednesday.

The trapped workers were shuttled back to the tunnel’s entry point, more than 5 miles (8 km) away from the affected area, after they escaped the collapsed section and met several coworkers in the unaffected part of the tunnel, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement.

The tunnel, which had a diameter of 18 ft (5.5 m), trapped 27 individuals, while four workers entered the damaged section to assist with rescue, LA Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva told reporters in a media briefing.

“The workers had to climb through debris. They had to make themselves out through,” before they were assisted out, Villanueva said.

Robert Ferrante, chief engineer and general manager of Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, told the briefing that a section of the already built part of the tunnel experienced squeezing ground conditions and partially collapsed.

“LAFD has just reported that all workers who were trapped in the tunnel in Wilmington are now out and accounted for. I just spoke with many of the workers who were trapped. Thank you to all of our brave first responders who acted immediately,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a post on X.

The collapsed section was a part of the Los Angeles County’s Clearwater Project, where the new 7-mile tunnel is being built to upgrade the region’s sewer system, officials added.

(Reuters)