By Our Reporter
Renowned Ugandan poet, academic, and human rights activist Dr. Stella Nyanzi has once again found herself at the center of controversy—this time not for her outspoken political activism, but for being denied re-entry into Germany, where she has been residing as a refugee under the Writers-in-Exile program.
Taking to her platform on X (formerly Twitter), Nyanzi narrated a harrowing experience at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. According to her posts, she was denied permission to board her scheduled Etihad Airways flight back to Munich, Germany, by a German International Liaison Officer (ILO) based in Nairobi, identified only as Constantine.
“As a Ugandan refugee in Germany, I’m shocked that I have been denied re-entry into Germany… My 3 children are waiting for me at home in Munich,” she posted alongside a photo of herself stranded at the airport.
Nyanzi, who fled Uganda in 2021 after facing political persecution for her criticism of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has been residing in Germany since January 2022 with her three children. Her relocation was part of the Writers-in-Exile program, which supports persecuted writers around the world. Before moving to Germany, she lived in Kenya temporarily while navigating asylum processes.
In her statement, she expressed profound frustration and disbelief, saying that despite presenting official documentation from Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) confirming her refugee status, Constantine insisted she was not yet officially recognized as such.
“Constantine has declared that I am NOT a refugee in Germany. Despite showing the positive decision of Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF)… he asserts I have not yet received a decision on my application,” she added in another tweet.
Forced to return to Nairobi, Nyanzi described the emotional toll of being blocked from returning to her children, having already checked out of her accommodation and bid farewell to her temporary base.
“I hate the dehumanization of being a refugee who must first beg to go home!” she lamented.
Nyanzi’s tweets quickly spread across social media, sparking mixed reactions from Ugandans and the wider diaspora. Supporters expressed sympathy and demanded answers from German immigration authorities, while others used the moment to reflect on broader issues of refugee treatment and the state of governance in Uganda.
A Deeper Question Of Bureaucracy & Belonging
This incident shines a spotlight on the bureaucratic hurdles refugees continue to face—even after being granted sanctuary. It raises urgent questions about how communication between diplomatic missions and immigration agencies is handled, and how inconsistencies in refugee status recognition can disrupt lives and divide families.
As Nyanzi now waits out a long weekend hoping to speak with Constantine at the German embassy in Nairobi, her case stands as a grim reminder of the fragility of legal protections for refugees—even in countries seen as champions of human rights.
For many who look to Europe as a haven from political oppression, the ordeal of Stella Nyanzi challenges assumptions and lays bare the emotional and logistical precarity that still defines the refugee experience.
