A 74-Year-Old Man Who Had Been in the US Since 1975 among the 7 Kenyans Deported on Friday

A 74-year-old man who had been living in the US since 1975 is among the 5 Kenyan and 67 Somali immigrants who arrived in Kenya on Friday morning after being deported from the United States.

The man, who asked not to be identified, says he was arrested for drunk driving in the USA. He told reporters that a judge fined him $1,240 which he immediately paid, only to be arrested by immigration agents as soon as he walked out the courtroom. “The judge fined me $1,240 which I paid but immediately I got out of the courtroom, I was re-arrested and sent to a detention camp,” he told The Standard.

After spending 42 years in the USA, the man arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) aboard a chartered plane with just a small bag containing his clothes. He says he was held in immigration detention for two weeks before being deported.

He says he is planning to return to the United States.

Zipporah Waweru, the police boss at JKIA police station, told The Standard that those deported had been initially arrested and charged with various crimes in the USA, with some having served jail terms for offenses including drunk driving, assault and robbery. 

“These were not ordinary people who were hounded out of the streets and then deported. They were involved in criminal acts and some had been in detention in the US correctional facilities,” Waweru said.

She adds that two of the Kenyans had been arrested trying to cross illegally into Canada.

The 67 Somali nationals were being held by police while awaiting to be sent to Somalia.