Samuel Ndesanjo Nyaga is now a joyous man after his wish to keep living in Canada was eventually granted. Nyaga was scheduled for deportation on January 4, 2022, but Canadian authorities have reversed the decision.
Nyaga lived in immigration limbo after he failed in his mission to seek refugee asylum in Canada.
For more than 20 years, he was on work permits that were consistently granted by Immigration, Refugees Citizenship Canada.
While talking during an interview with Global News in Toronto’s Little Jamaica, the 75-year-old Nyaga said: “I love this country more than any other country – it’s my home, so why?”
Nyaga said he escaped from Kenya in 2000 at the peak of democracy movements. According to him, he had to run away from his homeland due to political persecution and an attempt on his life.
He said: “I got advice: ‘you have to run away.
While pointing to his right thigh, he said: “They injured me. I have a scar here; they wanted to kill me.”
Nyaga’s lawyer, Ariel Hollander, revealed that the federal government issued work permits for him until 2017. He however lost his security guard job at a condominium in Toronto due to the expiration of his work permits.
Further applications and appeals to stay in Canada based on humanitarian grounds were also rejected.
Hollander said: “They just don’t know their rights and that was this case. He didn’t know that applying again for a humanitarian and compassionate application was an option, he didn’t know that if a work permit application is denied that he can apply again.”
Reasons for his deportation were outlined by the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) and the Inland Security Officer stated that Nyaga knew of his impending removal since 2010. He however added that a thorough risk assessment did not reveal any danger on Nyaga’s life.
The Inland Security Officer wrote: “While I acknowledge that it may take some time for him to reintegrate back to Kenyan society, it has to be understood that this is an unfortunate yet inherent result of the removal process and it does not constitute unusual or disproportionate hardship upon him.
“I am unable to conclude that removal to Kenya at this time would expose the applicant to risk of death, extreme sanction or inhumane treatment.”
The CBSA disclosed that those being removed had either exhausted or did not want to follow legal recourse. Nyaga learnt of his deportation In mid-December 2021 and got to know that his deportation back to Kenya was scheduled for January 4, 2022.
This prompted the Kenyan Community in Canada to launch an online petition to block the imminent deportation. More than 4,500 people signed the petition and the lawyer appointed to represent Nyaga applied to have him stay on humanitarian grounds.
The impending deportation was waived recently.
