A Kenyan preacher who claims she fled torture in Kenya and was granted asylum in Canada is now facing deportation.
Rosalind Wanyeki, known in Canada as Revered Hadassah, fled Kenya in 2020 with her daughters, now aged nine and six, but now they are due to be deported after authorities declined her asylum application.
Neither she nor the Canadian immigration authorities have clarified the grounds for her deportation, but she is been booked for deportation on August 7, 2025.
Canada may normally revoke an asylum seeker's status if their claim is rejected, if they are deemed inadmissible, or if they are found to have provided false information.
Ms Wanyeki said that over the past five and a half years she had settled in Toronto, where she runs a gospel ministry, and her children attend school.
Revered Rosalind Wanyeki, who is facing deportation to Kenya with her two young daughters, speaks at a past event.
Photo credit: Pool
But her asylum claim and application for permanent residency under humanitarian and compassionate grounds have been denied.
She said that the family was originally scheduled to be removed from Canada earlier this year but this was deferred to allow the children to complete the school year.
“I have tried to reach out for help from my MP, I’m getting opposition. I’m getting responses that cannot help me right now and I need help,” a tearful Wanyeki told CTV News Toronto.
For the preacher, deportation comes at a time her church has flourished there.
“I was already established, I had the church, and I had my own business, I have my two kids. I wouldn’t have come all this way, and then ask me to go back. It’s as good as saying, ‘if you want me to go back to Kenya, honestly, kill me here,” she said.
Her case has attracted significant attention from Kenyans and Canadians alike, with more than 2,000 people signing the change.org petition to stop their deportation.
In addition, 1,555 supporters signed via the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change portal.
Several petitioners have based their argument to stop the deportation on the fact that Wanyeki is a source of hope and a highly reliable member of the Kenyan and African communities in Canada.
They stated that the pastor had become a pillar of support for many immigrants who had fled religious persecution that threatened their lives.
They stated that her children came to Canada at a very young age and that it is the only home they have ever known.
"They have grown up in Canadian schools, formed friendships here and adopted the Canadian way of life. They have no connection to Kenya, culturally, socially or emotionally — and removing them from Canada would traumatise them and expose them to significant danger and instability," reads the petition.
The petitioners also explained that deporting Wanyeki would “endanger her” and move the children to an unfamiliar country and environment.
They also mention Wanyeki’s contributions to organisations such as Sauti Yetu, the Kenya Canadian Association and Prayer Reign International Church.
The petitioners have urged the Canadian authorities to act with compassion and justice.
“Please sign this petition and raise your voice for Rosalind Wanyeki and her children's right to remain in Canada, their true home,” said the organisation.
The Canadian departments of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), say they have mechanisms in place to gather and verify information relating to asylum claims. These include information provided by the asylum seekers themselves, as well as information from other sources, including international partners.
