A university professor is set to be deported to Kenya after living more than two decades in the United States.
Dr Mzenga Aggrey Wanyama, a relative of Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa and who has been teaching at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is set to be deported to Kenya after his appeal for political asylum was rejected.
Dr Wanyama has been living in the US with his wife, Mary Namalwa Mzenga for 25 years.
“Well, what can I do? If they want me to buy my own ticket, I will do that,” he told the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune newspaper on Thursday.
On Friday, the scholar and his spouse held a meeting with officials of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to review their case and discuss plans for deportation. He will report back to the immigration officials next month to plan for his deportation, even as Augsburg University mount pressure on immigration authorities to spare him.
In a statement on Friday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the Kenyan scholar has been a pillar in the community and the region.
“No president, no federal agency will deport Dr Wanyama without a fight from me, from our partners in the state and federal delegations, and from the thousands of people in Minneapolis who share our values,” said Mr Frey.
Dr Wanyama travelled to the US in 1992 as a non-immigrant exchange visitor. His wife and children Billy Levin Mzenga, 30, and Billy Masibai Mzenga, 26 followed him in 1995. Levin and Masibai are, however, protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Their third son,19, who is currently attending the University of Minnesota, was born in the US and is a citizen by birth.
After his visa expired in 2005, Dr Wanyama applied for asylum, arguing that he would be persecuted in Kenya over an article he wrote in The Standard newspaper in 2004 castigating retired President Mwai Kibaki's administration and praising Kibaki's rival, Raila Odinga.
After hearing Wanyama’s case against his deportation, the court found that his testimony was credible to establish a subjective fear of persecution, but the judge ruled that the scholar failed to show an objectively reasonable fear of future persecution.
Augsburg University president Paul Pribbenow has joined supporters who fear that Wanyama is being unfairly targeted for deportation despite his many years as a professor and crime-free life in the US.
“Dr Wanyama is a role model for the professional aspirations and accomplishments of future leaders in our city and country,” Pribbenow told the Star Tribune, adding that “we strongly stand behind him and believe he should be able to stay in the US.”
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When Mr.Trump was saying he'll deport undocumented immigrants, we all thought he was talking about criminals l, but no one could imagine a person like Dr. Wanyama. A very successful black man, with a black family. Cleary this is a move to make america white again.
Don't get me wrong, Sir, but welcome home, sweet home. And remember, if you are to fight with ICE, fight it alone, otherwise using others to do so( in this idiotic Trump era)will make things worse. Also remember that when ICE points a finger at you, it doesn't matter who you are, what you have contributed to American economy, who you know etc. They will still get at you. There are so many people I know who have walked that path and today are languishing in Jamhuri. And mghwas, start disposing your property pole pole: you need each and every dime here in Kenya.Change address as soon as now,including your Kenyan-born children. And stop banging, thumping and trumping your chest that you want to buy your own ticket. You need those dollars to help you settle down. And don't go to ICE offices together with your wife like you are visiting your primary doctor: you will walk in there and never go back home. They will detain you for a couple of months and then one day you will find yourself at Heathrow airport on your way to JKIA. When we talk about investing or putting something in Jamhuri FOR A RAINY DAY, its because things do go wrong, whether you have makaratasi or not, whether you are healthy or not, whether you have money or not, etc. But I guarantee you that you are a hot cake in Kenya: you will surely get a job. And while you fight it out, be wise, do something behind the scenes: buy a house here, list that house, sell your cars, transfer your funds(if you have any, to prepare yourself for safe landing. Tell your children what to do if things go the other way. And something else Sir, don't get worried about those articles you used to write about I don't know what, hapa Kenya watu hawana shughuri. Warning! Beware of Kenyans, including your hawk-eyed relatives, because they will milk you dry with the false pretense of trying to help you settle, especially if you've been away for those 25 years. Settle somewhere you are not known or they will never know, if Luhya customs will allow it. Don't be so confident that the mayor or whoever will fight it out for you. Huyo ni kuharibu anaharibu. Mjinga Trump akisikia vile meya anasema, ololo yaai. Like now stop thinking about your doctorates and degrees. Think about "What if." And by way, start apllying for a job in this Kenyan universities especially UASU or Strathmore Universities, wanakuchukua ....pap. ICE has always been led by Republican racist officials, and when they have a racist president to back them up, my friend your baked. I pray for you sir. But start preparing yourself psychologically, socially, financially and emotionally in settling in the most disorganized, lawless, chaotic, thieves-infested country we call Kenya, but where you are guaranteed, kama ulijipanga mapema, peace of mind, quietness,stress-free, fatigue-free, bills-free, tax-free, emission-free, survival-free environment. Wish you all the best.