A Canadian judge has approved the deportation of a Kenyan preacher and her two young daughters after her asylum claim was rejected.
Wanyeki had argued for more time in Canada, stating that her life would be in danger in Kenya and that she hoped to apply for permanent residency. However, a Canadian immigration judge endorsed the deportation order on Wednesday after the family's final appeal for asylum was declined.
Rosalind Wanyeki, also known as Reverend Hadassah, and her children were scheduled to be deported from Toronto on Thursday via an Ethiopian Airlines flight, to arrive in Nairobi on Friday afternoon.
She claims she fled torture in Kenya in 2020 and settled in Toronto, where she runs a gospel ministry. Her daughters, now aged nine and six, have been attending school and have no memory of life in Kenya, she argued.
The family was originally scheduled to leave earlier in the year, but a deferral was granted so the girls could finish the school year. Following a final hearing on Wednesday, a deportation order was issued.
The family is currently being held by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), awaiting their flight to Nairobi via Addis Ababa.
In a phone interview from the detention centre, Wanyeki told CTV News Toronto that her children are frightened and don’t understand what is happening.
"They don't know why they have to leave the city," she said.
The grounds for the family's deportation have not been clarified by either Wanyeki or Canadian immigration authorities. Typically, an asylum seeker's status can be revoked if their claim is rejected, they are deemed inadmissible, or they provided false information.
In a statement, a CBSA spokesperson confirmed that it “carries out removals based on a risk-management regime” and only actions a removal order once all legal avenues have been exhausted.
The case has attracted significant attention, with more than 2,000 people signing a petition on change.org to stop the deportation. Supporters argue that she is a pillar of the community, and her daughters, who have grown up in Canada, would be traumatised by being moved to an unfamiliar country.
The petitioners said Wanyeki has become a pillar of support for the Kenyan and African communities in Canada and that her children have grown up as Canadian.
"They have no connection to Kenya, culturally, socially or emotionally — and removing them from Canada would traumatise them," the petition states.
