The German government has refuted claims that were made by President William Ruto that up to quarter a million of Kenyans will be given visas to work in Germany.

This is after President Ruto made the assertion during an interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW).

The German government stated that the agreement that had been arrived at between the two countries did not include any number of skilled workers that would be accepted into the country.

“This information is clearly false. The agreement between Germany and Kenya does not include any numbers or quotas of skilled workers who will have the opportunity to work in Germany. All applicants must fulfil the strict requirements of the German Skilled Immigration Act,” Germany’s Federal Ministry of Interior and Community said on X (formerly Twitter).

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The denial forced the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to pull down a story in which the Kenyan authorities had been quoted claiming that 250,000 Kenyan citizens were now set for German jobs.

According to a related report on the German jobs that was publish by the CNN, immigration has become a hot potato in Germany.

“Migration is a major flashpoint in Germany, and has fueled the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Germany welcomed more than one million people during the migrant crisis of 2015-2016 and more recently took in large numbers of Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion,” the CNN reporter stated.

The report further notes that there are currently around 14,800 Kenyan citizens living in Germany. Out if these, the CNN reporter noted, around 800 are currently out of status and are required to leave the country.