As a child, I dreamt of living abroad but I’ve always been scared to think that one day I could find myself in a country where I might find myself suddenly on the wrong side of the law and easily so, most probably by doing something that is not given equal attention or sentencing back here. Maybe it’s a one-sided view courtesy of social media but I imagine that I must sit through a class to teach me all the laws of the land I plan to migrate to, from the smallest to the biggest most important law of that land.

Kenya has strict laws and those who don’t adhere to them are in all sorts of confinement and I do not wish incarceration even on my worst enemy, but American deportation stories have had me choke with tears especially when I have to see families pulled apart depending on who has the correct papers and wo doesn’t.

While the deportation stories of Kenyans in America due to overstays, working without appropriate papers, breaking other laws, have been widely spread, one story of a Kenyan facing deportation in Canada caught my attention.

A Kenyan preacher and her two children are facing deportation five years after moving to Canada apparently to seek asylum from a powerful Kenyan church leader. While we are not privy to exact reasons behind her deportation, Canada would normally revoke asylum seekers’ status if their applications are declined, or if they are found to have given false information. Some Kenyans on TikTok are wondering what kind of asylum this is, most insinuating that she could be faking her real reasons for not wanting to come back to Kenya.

Whatever her reasons, I wish the very best to her, her kids and the over 3,000 supporters who signed petitions to request the Canadian authorities to stop her deportation.

On a lighter note, Reverend should look at her situation like the Biblical story of Jonah who was sent to Nineveh to preach repentance and the consequences of his refusal. She should then accept the calling and come back home to continue with the Lord’s work. Her story is now out and any attempt to hurt her will surely alert government and church authorities.

Rosebella Kwamboka Ototo is a Radio Traffic Controller currently with Radio47, a mother to a teenager and a toddler