African artists are increasingly facing visa rejections in various parts of the world - and it is because immigration officials don't think they will want to return home.
The recent struggle of Kenyan disc jockey and performer, Coco Em, to travel to a festival in Cape Verde by transiting through Amsterdam has reignited concerns over the perceived unjust treatment meted out to Africans.
She shared her experience on Twitter in November 2022.
Coco Em (born Emma Nzioka) was billed to perform at the Terra Sagrada festival but she was refused entry unless she met stringent requirements.
She had anticipated this show and had made preparations for nearly a year, only to be told at the airport in her home country that she could not board the flight unless she bought a return ticket.
"This rule is not written on any of their official websites or social media pages so the only way to know is just to know?" she wrote in a statement appealing the decision.
Though she claimed she had a valid Schengen visa (a visa which allows you entry into the 27 European member states of the Schengen area, including the Netherlands), Coco Em stated there were other reasons why she was not allowed to travel.
According to her, the airline staff said they weren't sure of her relationship with her country of transit (Amsterdam). "Are you sure you will come back mmmh?" she said the staff asked.
Furthermore, her statement indicated how allegations of Africans causing trouble, tearing up their passports and refusing to leave until they're being deported made up the reasons for these stringent actions.
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Similarly, Nigerian Afropop singer Yemi Alade and her band were denied visas for the International Africa Nights festival in Canada.
Though the singer had been on several tours around the world, her request for a visa was denied before she arrived in Montreal.
According to Suzanne Rousseau, the festival's co-founder, they were refused visas over fears that she and her band wouldn't leave Canada after their performance.
"Finally, we got an answer saying the musicians were refused, saying they have to guarantee that they have enough financial means that will make them go back to their country," she said.
Alade was eventually replaced with Sampa the Great, a Zambian-born Australia-based singer.
In 2019, two Tanzanian artists, DJ Duke and MCZO, were denied a visa to the US after claiming they had spent a lot on the application process.
When asked what might happen if this becomes a growing trend, Ogagus, an artist manager and A&R, said "It would make booking African artists for tours/concerts more risky and volatile."
Clarifying what happened in Yemi Alade's case, Ogaba Onazi, who is also a team member of Alade's record label, said, "We reapplied and we got it. So you can say the case of Yemi Alade was a misunderstanding which was rectified almost immediately.
