Gamu holidays weaken firing squad claims

By Bridget Morris

Axed X Factor contestant Gamu Nhengu has made several trips to her homeland of Zimbabwe since she arrived in Scotland eight years ago. The news undermines the 18-year-old singer’s claims that, if she were to be deported, she would face a “firing squad” upon her return.

Gamu, along with her mother and two brothers, may be forced to return to Zimbabwe after her visa renewal was denied two weeks ago due to administrative errors. Gamu’s mother, Nokuthula Ngazana, also allegedly claimed £16,000 of child tax credits that she was not entitled to.

Last Sunday Gamu, pictured below, gave a series of interviews in which she claimed her family would be persecuted if they returned to Zimbabwe. Her father, Thompson Nhengu, apparently wrote a series of articles for a magazine that dictator Robert Mugabe eventually banned. Nhengu died in a car crash in 1994 when Gamu was three.

But according to sources in Zimbabwe, Gamu has made return visits to the country to visit family several times since moving to Scotland. The most recent was “a couple of years ago”. The singer, who now lives in Tillicoultry, provoked a national outcry after being booted out of The X Factor two weeks ago in favour of two contestants who failed to finish their audition.

Two days later, Gamu found out about her failed visa and potential deportation. In the ensuing days, politicians of every stripe rallied around to champion her case. Scottish Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop even wrote to Theresa May, the Home Secretary, to encourage the Home Office to rethink its decision.

X Factor mogul Simon Cowell’s lawyers were also drafted in to help Gamu’s legal fight. HeraldScotland.com