Kenyan Court Orders Deportation of Congolese Teacher

Shock filled Milimani Law Courts when a Chief Magistrate ordered the deportation of a Congolese national who has been living in Kenya since 2017, despite of being married to a Kenyan and having spent so many years in Kenya.

The French teacher by trade was deemed to have overstayed in Kenya without changing his immigration status.

The Congolese teacher was arraigned in court on charges related to immigration law violations, with the state contending that he did not comply with an appropriate legal process to allow him to stay in Kenya and other countries along the way.

The charges indicate that he violated international immigration laws by staying in Kenya without an appropriate visa or work visa.

In addressing the accused, the magistrate laid out the case against him, stating: “You have failed to update your immigration records or status, and you are there for charged with an offence before the court. You will now produce the passport, immigration report, and travel history as exhibits 1,2, and 3, respectively. Do you have anything to say?”

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Accused Pleads for Leniency

Responding to the court, the Congolese national gave a detailed account of his life in Kenya and appealed for mercy.

He told the magistrate: “Yes, your honour, I have been in the country since 2017 and I have never been arrested and never have I hada  problem with the law.”

He went on to explain his professional background, saying, “So, I started teaching at Lakewood Senior School in 2019. I took the kids to the music festival at Kabarak University. I was the best French teacher in Kenya.”

He went further to explain how the COVID-19 outbreak affected his career as a teacher by saying, “And then COVID came, and all the schools were closed. I started to do business to survive.”

The accused also highlighted his family ties in Kenya, stating: “I got married in 2020 to a Kenyan, we have one kid, and my in-laws are here.”

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Court Issues Fine and Deportation Order

Maintaining that he had no criminal record, the teacher told the court: “I have never been arrested. I have never done anything wrong. I’m really sorry for not renewing my visa on time. As we are speaking, we have already started the process and just given a chance i will make it work.”

However, the court noted that ignorance or delay in complying with immigration requirements could not excuse the offence.

In delivering the sentence, the magistrate ruled: “And with the nature of the offence and the acceptance of the penalty. You’re fined 40,000 or two months in prison.”

The court further informed the accused of his legal options, stating: “If you are not satisfied with the sentence, you have the right to appeal to the court in the next 14 days.”

The ruling concluded with a directive on his status after the sentencing as follows: the court ordered that, “For the service of default sentence, the convict is to be attributed to his country of nationality as provided under section 26 of the penal code.”

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Milimani Law Courts structure for illustration purposes. PHOTO/pixels