Man deported to Kenya from Tanzania to know his fate

A man who was deported from Tanzania to Kenya will on Wednesday know his fate as the African Court makes a ruling on his case.

Anudo Ochieng Anudo was deported in 2015 and his situation declared illegal by the High Court in Tanzania .

The man who is Director General of an non-profit firm named “Tanzania Human for People Rights,” says he has had to seek refuge in different locations within the two countries where he is living in “very difficult conditions.”

In a letter sent to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) on May 24, 2015, the applicant states that he was expelled by the Tanzanian Immigration Services because of alleged corruption cases.

According to him however, the authorities did so because he refused to pay them. “The Applicant contends that he was expelled “illegally” in inhuman, undignified and degrading conditions. He further submits that he and his biological parents are Tanzanians by birth. His rights to citizenship as guaranteed by the Tanzanian Constitution and International Law have been violated,” a statement from AfCHPR reads in part.

Anudo now wants the African Court to annul the decision to expel him from Tanzania.

The respondent, the Tanzania Government, however maintains that the applicant is no longer a citizen as it has been established that his passport was acquired using forged documents.

“The Applicant refused to appear before the Immigration Officers to legalise his presence within the Respondent State or to process his departure from the country. Following that, his passport was erased from the register of legally recognised Tanzanian passports,” the respondent further states.

The African Court is composed of eleven judges, nationals of Member States of the African Union elected in their individual capacity, and it meets four times a year in Ordinary Sessions and may meet in Extra-Ordinary Session. The ruling is expected to be made at 2 p.m.