{"id":147177,"date":"2025-08-11T20:12:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T20:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/germanys-refugee-program-freeze-strands-asylum-seekers"},"modified":"2025-08-11T20:45:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T20:45:32","slug":"germanys-refugee-program-freeze-strands-asylum-seekers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/germanys-refugee-program-freeze-strands-asylum-seekers","title":{"rendered":"Germany’s Refugee Program Freeze Strands Asylum-Seekers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. <\/strong><\/span>Chaste Zamukunda is a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo. In April 2025, she and her son boarded their flight away from a Kenyan displacement camp.<\/b><\/p>\n

They had received official approval to travel to Germany as part of a United Nations programme to resettle refugees.<\/p>\n

But once in Nairobi, their travel was cancelled at the last minute, after Germany\u2019s new government froze the country\u2019s participation in the programme.<\/p>\n

“We felt like we were being saved”<\/b>, Zamukunda said. “We went to Nairobi and were put up in a good place. We ate well, we slept well. Then the bad news came: Germany has rejected us, we’e not going.”<\/b><\/p>\n

The centre-right party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz<\/b> won German federal elections in February, in part on a promise to curb immigration.<\/p>\n

The coalition in power decided to halt refugee admission through the UN programme in April.<\/p>\n

Altogether, 183 refugees were flown back from Nairobi to refugee camps<\/b> that month, according to the UN agency for refugees.<\/p>\n

Among those affected by Germany’s decision was South Sudanese pastor Dennis Kumer. After a two-year process involving medical checks and security interviews, the news of the cancellation came as a shock to him and his family.<\/p>\n

“It was not a good day for all of us. You found everyone falling sick”<\/b>, he said. “No one could eat their food.”<\/b><\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s decision has affected asylum seekers in many countries, including people from the DRC<\/b>, South Sudan<\/b> and Afghanistan. Some of them are now taking legal action.<\/p>\n

Over 50 families and individuals are reportedly suing the German government, according to immigration lawyer Matthias Lehnert.<\/p>\n

“We are actually confronted with lots of individuals who have legal binding acceptances to get to Germany, and the [new German] government not only closes their eyes to the individual situation, but they are closing their eyes to the law”<\/b>, Lehnert said.<\/p>\n

Germany’s Interior ministry said 4,711 people<\/b> had arrived in the country through the UN-led programme since 2024.<\/p>\n

The country had promised the European Commission to take in 13,000 refugees<\/b> for 2024 and 2025 combined.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Kenya<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. Chaste Zamukunda is a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo. In April 2025, she and her son boarded their flight away from a Kenyan displacement camp. They had received official approval to travel to Germany as part of a United Nations programme to resettle refugees. 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