‘A victory’: Canada halts planned deportation of bisexual man to Kenya

TORONTO — A bisexual man in Canada has been granted one-year temporary residency just a day before his scheduled deportation to Kenya — an outcome his supporters call “a victory for migrant and queer justice.”

Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, an organization supporting Charles Mwangi, said in a press release Saturday that the 48-year-old man living in Toronto was granted the temporary resident permit after a wave of petitions, protests and an emergency application to the United Nations Human Rights committee. Mwangi had been scheduled to leave on Sunday.

“I’m so happy today, we have won,” Mwangi said in the release, adding that the journey of undocumented people is “not a joke, it’s a nightmare.”

Mwangi said he fled Kenya after facing death threats and abuse because of his sexuality before arriving in Canada in 2019. He had feared his forced return, especially since his activism and the notoriety of his case placed him at even greater risk of persecution in the east African country.

Kenya criminalizes same-sex relationships, and human rights groups there have reported widespread cases of discrimination, harassment and violence against LGBTQ people, with police often cited as one of the major perpetrators.

In the release, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change said Mwangi’s temporary resident permit allows him to stay in Canada while his humanitarian and compassionate application is reviewed.

Diana Da Silva, an organizer for Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, called on Ottawa to protect undocumented people.

“Stopping Charles’s deportation is a victory for migrant and queer justice and the power of community action,” Da Silva said in a statement. “We should not have had to fight to stop his deportation, we call on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to keep his promise and regularize all undocumented people.”

The organization said Mwangi currently works as a personal support worker at two Toronto shelters, and previously worked in long-term care homes during the pandemic. They said he had come to Canada under the belief that it was safe for people who identify as LGBTQ+.

Mwangi made a last-ditch request this week for the United Nations Human Rights Committee to intervene in his case after his refugee claim was denied in 2021 and several follow-up appeals were unsuccessful.

A copy of the UN application says his refugee claim was denied because the adjudicator did not find Mwangi, who is married and has two children, to be a credible bisexual man despite his sworn testimony, the testimony of a man he was said to be dating in Toronto and his activism with local LGBTQ organizations.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Migrant Workers Alliance for Change said Mwangi is set to lead a demonstration in Toronto on Sept. 15 as part of Canada-wide actions against racism and for immigrant justice.

Jordan Omstead and Rianna Lim, The Canadian Press