| Gamu Nhengu's fans unite to fight X Factor rejection and deportation threat Facebook campaign backing teenager gathers pace as UK Border Agency orders her to return to ZimbabweThe X Factor is not a show afraid of a drama. The contestants' heart-wrenching back stories, trials, tribulations and dreams are a vital part of the show's makeup – more important, some argue, than the talent of those on stage.But the controversy over the teenage rejected contestant Gamu Nhengu, eliminated from the show at the weekend, reached a pitch that even Simon Cowell may find unsettling today when it emerged that she has been ordered to return to her native Zimbabwe.The UK Border Agency confirmed that the 18-year-old, controversially shunned by judge Cheryl Cole despite a strong performance and significant support on Saturday, will have to leave the country.She had been able to remain in the UK as a dependant while her mother, Nokuthula Ngazana, studied at university. Ngazana's visa has expired and the family's application to remain has been rejected as they did not meet Home Office criteria. The family now must leave the UK voluntarily or face deportation.The news sparked a renewed wave of support for the singer. Thousands of fans who had signed an online petition to have her reinstated to the contest now say they will write to MPs and immigration officials to protest against the deportation.One, calling themselves Gamu Record Deal, wrote on a Facebook support page: "If X factor dont want Gamu. If Gamu is going to be deported lets get Gamu a Recording Contract."Gary Spencer, organiser of one of the campaigns, urged fellow fans to bombard Westminster with emails. "This is an absolute travesty," he wrote. "I have a pre-written email with all the MP, Home Office and immigration contacts so I think we should email them en masse. Reply to me and I will send you this email to forward on in your name."Others urged fellow supporters to write to the Home Office. Officials are understood to be speaking to Gamu and her family, who arrived in Scotland from Zimbabwe five years ago, about leaving the UK. They do not have a right to appeal and the singer cannot apply separately to remain here.A further twist in the tale may come on Saturday, when Gamu fans will be hoping that the singer receives one of the judges' wildcard nominations, enabling her to stay in the competition. It remains to be seen what impact if any this would have on her immigration status.A border agency spokesman said: "The applications made by Ngazana and her family were considered in line with the published immigration rules."Ngazana's application was refused as it did not meet all of the conditions for approval."Her family, who had applied as her dependants, were therefore also refused."Where people are found to have no right to remain in the UK, we expect them to leave voluntarily."A Home Office spokesman said the decision to axe the student from the X Factor was the business of the TV show.The X Factor has vehemently denied suggestions that Cole had been influenced by visa issues.A spokeswoman said: "Gamu's visa being processed was not the reason that she didn't make the final 12."The X FactorEntertainmentTelevisionImmigration and asylumFacebookInternetZimbabweAlexandra Toppingguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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Bride and groom held in immigration raid Suspected sham wedding at Sheffield town hall halted in latest raid by police and UK Border AgencyA bride and groom were taken in handcuffs from a register office in Sheffield today in a high-profile raid by police and immigration staff who are targeting sham weddings.Passersby watched as the groom, a 36-year-old originally from Afghanistan and wearing a grey suit, was led from the aborted civil ceremony by a uniformed officer and a plainclothes colleague.The intended bride, dressed in a floor-length white bridal gown with intricate beading sewn to the front, was then escorted from Sheffield town hall. A 21-year-old originally from Slovakia, she was also handcuffed and looked clearly upset.The couple were led past shoppers in the busy plaza along with two guests who had been invited to the wedding, which had been about to start when the officers intervened. They were taken away in two police vans which had drawn up nearby.Detective Sergeant Alisdair Duncan of South Yorkshire police, who led the operation, said the raid continued a summer of intense activity against suspected sham weddings by the UK Border Agency: "The couple were due to get married at 10.30am and we've just disrupted that. The message is that we can disrupt these weddings. There are laws there and we're enforcing them."The would-be groom is understood to be a failed asylum-seeker.A spokesman for the UKBA said that 53 suspect weddings had been stopped since the practice was first targeted four months ago. Few attempts at discretion have been made during the arrest of 118 participants, to emphasise that police and border agency staff are prepared to exercise the traditional right of anyone to attend a wedding and object.Duncan said: "There were quite a few weddings taking place but these have really tailed off now. So it is having an impact. We've had so much publicity you wonder why people continue."Jeremy Oppenheim, UKBA regional director for the North-East, Yorkshire and the Humber, said: "We will not tolerate immigration abuse and, once again, our immigration crime teams have shown that they will crack down on those attempting sham marriages. Our aim now is to identify the organisers who would seek to profit from this kind of illegal activity and destroy their criminal business."He also called for anyone associated with weddings to be aware of possible immigration-related scams: "We are working closely with registrars to identify marriages that may not be genuine. We do not expect vicars or registrars to be experts in immigration law or spotting forged documents – that's our job. But, if they have any suspicions about whether a relationship is genuine, we would urge them to get in touch with us."Immigration and asylumCrimeMartin Wainwrightguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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