Aug 12, 2009 01:27 PM
John Goddard
Staff Reporter
Canada's indifference toward Suaad Hagi Mohamud surfaced again today with officials denying her request for identification papers and other help.
"I've got nothing," she said by phone from Nairobi, Kenya, two days after DNA tests validated identity claims she had been making for nearly three months.
Her situation is desperate, she says.
With nothing to show she is in Kenya legally after Canada voided her Canadian passport on May 22 — and her Kenyan visitor's visa — she remains vulnerable to arrest and jail by Kenyan authorities, she said.
For weeks, she has been holed up under 24-hour guard paid for by a non-governmental charity, Ecoterra International, in fear for her safety.
Today's experience at the Candian high commission put her no further ahead, a friend helping Mohamud, who asked not to be named, said by phone from Nairobi.
Mohamud sat next to him as he spoke and afterward confirmed the details.
"(The Canadian high commission) called this afternoon saying she had to come," the friend said, meaning the high commission turned down her request to send somebody to her.
"I had to drive her myself because her lawyer was not available."
When they arrived, a consular official on the job for three weeks was assigned to the case. He appeared to have no authority and appeared to be acting from a script, the witness said.
Mohamud filled out forms and had her picture taken.
Asked if he might issue identification papers or some type of laissez-passer, the consular official said no. Mohamud would be issued travel papers but only on the day she leaves the country, the official said.
Mohamud remains stuck in Kenya until the Kenyans drop unfounded charges against her. The charges were prompted by the Canadian high commission's May 28 conclusions about her that she was misrepresenting herself — conclusions now proved false.
In Toronto, lawyer Raoul Boulakia has filed a motion in federal court trying to force Ottawa to ask the Kenyans to drop the charges. His case is to be heard tomorrow.
Kenyan bail money remains another outstanding matter. In June, Mohamud's mother put up $2,500 (U.S.) to get Mohamud out of a Kenyan jail after eight days.
Asked whether Canada might forward Mohamud the money and get it from the Kenyans later, the Canadian consular said no - she must stay until Kenyan authorities pay back the money.
"Usually, the Kenyans don't like to pay back bail very quickly," the witness said.
Even packing for her trip home could be a problem, Mohamud said.
During her nearly three-month ordeal, she at one point rented a room in a Nairobi slum. When she couldn't meet the rent, the landlord seized her luggage.
To retrieve it, she will have to pay the back rent but the Canadian high commission refused a request to help, the witness said.
In Ottawa, a foreign affairs spokesperson would say only: "There are several steps that need to be gone through before a travel document can be issued."
What is the deal with the Canadian government? What should you expect when outside the country in terms of assistance from the government in a situation like this?
John Goddard
Staff Reporter
Canada's indifference toward Suaad Hagi Mohamud surfaced again today with officials denying her request for identification papers and other help.
"I've got nothing," she said by phone from Nairobi, Kenya, two days after DNA tests validated identity claims she had been making for nearly three months.
Her situation is desperate, she says.
With nothing to show she is in Kenya legally after Canada voided her Canadian passport on May 22 — and her Kenyan visitor's visa — she remains vulnerable to arrest and jail by Kenyan authorities, she said.
For weeks, she has been holed up under 24-hour guard paid for by a non-governmental charity, Ecoterra International, in fear for her safety.
Today's experience at the Candian high commission put her no further ahead, a friend helping Mohamud, who asked not to be named, said by phone from Nairobi.
Mohamud sat next to him as he spoke and afterward confirmed the details.
"(The Canadian high commission) called this afternoon saying she had to come," the friend said, meaning the high commission turned down her request to send somebody to her.
"I had to drive her myself because her lawyer was not available."
When they arrived, a consular official on the job for three weeks was assigned to the case. He appeared to have no authority and appeared to be acting from a script, the witness said.
Mohamud filled out forms and had her picture taken.
Asked if he might issue identification papers or some type of laissez-passer, the consular official said no. Mohamud would be issued travel papers but only on the day she leaves the country, the official said.
Mohamud remains stuck in Kenya until the Kenyans drop unfounded charges against her. The charges were prompted by the Canadian high commission's May 28 conclusions about her that she was misrepresenting herself — conclusions now proved false.
In Toronto, lawyer Raoul Boulakia has filed a motion in federal court trying to force Ottawa to ask the Kenyans to drop the charges. His case is to be heard tomorrow.
Kenyan bail money remains another outstanding matter. In June, Mohamud's mother put up $2,500 (U.S.) to get Mohamud out of a Kenyan jail after eight days.
Asked whether Canada might forward Mohamud the money and get it from the Kenyans later, the Canadian consular said no - she must stay until Kenyan authorities pay back the money.
"Usually, the Kenyans don't like to pay back bail very quickly," the witness said.
Even packing for her trip home could be a problem, Mohamud said.
During her nearly three-month ordeal, she at one point rented a room in a Nairobi slum. When she couldn't meet the rent, the landlord seized her luggage.
To retrieve it, she will have to pay the back rent but the Canadian high commission refused a request to help, the witness said.
In Ottawa, a foreign affairs spokesperson would say only: "There are several steps that need to be gone through before a travel document can be issued."
What is the deal with the Canadian government? What should you expect when outside the country in terms of assistance from the government in a situation like this?
