The Herd Get Heard for Ken
Bristol Bisons rugby club are celebrating success after five years of battling to keep one of their members, Kenneth Macharia, in the UK and stop him being sent back to Kenya where he faced homophobic arrest or attack.
Their fight for Ken intensified in 2019 when Ken was threatened with immediate removal from the country and called from a Heathrow detention centre. Now they are nothing short of jubilant that he has won his asylum appeal, the Home Office have confirmed they are not appealing the Tribunal decision, and Ken has refugee status.
"Ken came to the UK about a decade ago to study mechanical engineering and regularly had his work permit renewed beyond his student days," said Bristol Bisons Chairman, David Mason.
"Then, about five years ago, the Home Office changed the rules and required him to be earning more than he was paid, so he no longer qualified. He had to apply for asylum because, as a gay man, he would be persecuted in Kenya, face up to 14 years’ imprisonment or mob justice in the streets.
Ken always there for the team
“He’s a fully paid-up member of our club, trains regularly, is part of the squad as well as being our official photographer, first aider and minibus driver. If we need something doing, we just ask Ken, he’s the archetypal amazing volunteer. He also volunteers with refugee charities in the city.
“When he had to sign in weekly at the police station and got detained unexpectedly and sent to a detention centre at Heathrow, we had to swing into action and got a petition which was signed by 180,000 in the end. We got the issue on the local news and his case went in front of a local judge who stayed the order to remove him from the country. We had a crowd funder which raised in excess of £10,000 and enabled Ken to be represented by a QC.
Right to live & work in UK
“We would go to the police station with Ken after he was detained to ensure if anything like that happened again, we would know about it. We would very much like to thank everyone for their continued support throughout the past couple of years.
We still regularly receive messages asking about the proceedings, anything that can be done, and Ken’s general wellbeing. Unfortunately, for quite a while, due to advice on the legal proceedings, we were unable to comment or raise discussion on the case, so that the experts could do their job.
“This latest ruling, and confirmation that the Home Office will not appeal the decision, means that Ken has the right to live and work in the UK for the foreseeable future. So once again, thank you to everyone who has offered their time, money and support throughout the fight.”
Ken can now, hopefully, put this anguish behind him.
He said: “I would like to thank everyone for all the support they offered me. Your support is what kept me going at a very dark time in my life. I am looking forward to a bright future now.”
