21 Year Old Kenyan Woman Facing Deportation
Mouren Cheptoo, a 21 year old Kenyan lady, is among thousands of asylum seekers in Sweden whose cases were rejected by the immigration authorities in contravention of basic Swedish asylum rules. According to Expressen, a Swedish evening newspaper, Cheptoo’s case was turned down although she fled from his polygamous father after a failed attempt to marry her off and after she escaped from a group of women who attempted Female Genital Mutilation on her
Cheptoo told Expressen that her father “wanted to marry her off with an old man”. The paper had examined 50 cases of female asylum seekers which were rejected by the Swedish 
Immigration on grounds that, the paper says, amounted to authorities “violating their own rules”. The paper noted that women who had escaped murder, rape, torture and imprisonment routinely had their cases turned down because of violation of rules by Swedish officials handling the cases.
The paper says that the violations are a product of carelessness in how cases should be handled, failure to allow asylum seekers to choose the sex of their interpreters or agents, lack of separate consultations and, in some cases, lack of interpreters. The paper says that the International Red Cross has examined hundreds of such cases and found the Swedish Immigration authorities at fault.
When Mouren came to Sweden in 2006 after escaping being married to a 50 year old who already had three wives, her mother had just died. The Father wanted to marry her off so that he could get money to pay dowry for a new wife he wanted to marry. This prompted the father to try and force Mouren into a marriage before she fled Kenya. Before she could be married off, a key cultural requirement was that her genitals had to be mutilated as a right of passage. Mouren claimed that the father then hired a few men to force the operation.
She told Expressen that “They tried to tie me with a rope and sexually mutilate me. I panicked and managed to run. All night, I hid myself in a maize plantation before I went to a woman in a Church who hid me”, she said.
The woman then told Mouren that she would notify the police about attempts to mutilate her genitals but unfortunately, the policeman hailed from the same ethnic group as her. The policeman told her to go home and later, another police officer demanded an equivalent of about 25,000 kr for reasons she didn’t tell the paper. She then fled to Sweden.
During Cheptoo’s interview with the Immigration officials, she was denied the right to legal representation because her lawyer was sick. Under the rules, the authorities should have postponed the interview because whatever she said during the interview could be used against her. Mouren says that during her contacts with Immigration officials, she was never asked whether she filed a report with the Kenyan police following her ordeal at the hands of her fellow villagers.
The Immigration authorities have argued that claims that her experiences were filed with Kenyan police came later and therefore, the Immigration authorities believe that she is non-credible. The authorities also say that she had not yet exhausted possibilities of protection in Kenya while another argument used in dismissing the case is that the risk of genital mutilation cannot constitute threat of persecution. Cheptoo has lodged an appeal with the Swedish Immigration Court.
Okoth Osewe
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Ms. Moureen Cheptoo’s case typifies the injustice and carelessness that many female asylum seekers undergo at the Swedish Migration Board. According to the Board, all applicants must be vetted thoroughly to ascertain apparent threats or risks in their countries of origin, before rejection and eventual deportation.
However, Expressen’s report indicates a lot of loopholes in the handling of Moureen before the deportation verdict. She risks undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM) in Kenya; an act that she escaped by fleeing to Sweden in 2006.
I hope that her appeal will yield a positive outcome to enable her stay in Sweden. “Good luck sister.”
Female Asylum Seekers in developed countries:
A small minority of women refugees seek asylum in industrialized countries. In many countries, immigration officials oppose asylum for women who fear reprisals at home if they have transgressed strict moral codes. For example they may turn away women who are in danger because of their family connections, or who have fled the threat of female genital mutilation.
The UNHCR’s guidelines on the protection of women say the governments should: “Promote recognition that there may be a basis for granting refugee status where a government cannot or will not protect women who are subject to abuse.”
http://www.womenaid.org/press/info/fgm/fgmgov.htm
We thought you may be interested in these events that we are organising. Would it be possible for you to publish this on your blog? Thank you!
Best wishes
Kristina
Global Women’s Strike
INTERNATIONAL GATHERING of the GLOBAL WOMEN’S STRIKE and INTERNATIONAL WOMEN COUNT NETWORK
Five major events over 10 days:
31 January-8 February 2009, London, England
1. Grassroots Struggle Against Sexism and Racism: an International Comparison – Saturday 31 January
2. Our Debt to Haitians – the First to Abolish Slavery – Sunday 1 February
3. Invest In Caring, Not Killing: Valuing the Work of Caring for People and the Planet – Saturday 7 February
4. Rediscovering Tanzania’s Ujamaa – Tribute to the Great Ntimbanjayo Millinga and the Ruvuma Development Association Sunday 8 February
5. Rape and Prostitution – A Question of Consent Date & Time to be confirmed
For more information: http://www.globalwomenstrike.net/internationalgathering2009.htm
womenstrike8m@server101.com
020 7482 2496
SWEDEN:
The Act on Prohibition of Female Circumcision was passed in 1982. It not only seeks to bring to justice those breaking Swedish laws, but also any person living in Sweden who assists in carrying out FGM in another country which also has prohibitive laws.
A number of countries which have not yet passed specific laws use existing national legislation to prohibit the practice of female genital mutilation.
Promulgated on 27 May 1982
Section 1. An operation may not be carried out on the outer female sexual organs with a view to mutilating them or of bringing about some other permanent change in them (“circumcision”), regardless of whether consent has been given for the operation or not.
Section 2. Anyone committing a breach of Section 1 is to be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than four years.
If the offence has caused danger to life, serious illness, or has involved conduct of an unusually ruthless character in some other respect, it shall be regarded as grave. For a grave offence the sentence is a term of imprisonment of not less than two years and not more than ten years.
A sentence for liability pursuant to Chapter 23 of the Penal Code is to be passed on anyone found guilty of attempting, preparing or conspiring to commit the above offence, or of failing to report it. Act (1998:407).
Section 3. Anyone who has committed an offence under the terms of this Act is to be sentenced in a Swedish court of law, even if Chapter 2 Sections 2 or 3 of the Penal Code are inapplicable.
Regulations on requirements for authorization to bring an action in certain cases are set out in Chapter 2 Section 5 of the Penal Code. Act (1999:267).
http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/574/a/25650
FGM in Kenya:
FGM involves the cutting and/or removal of the clitoris and other vaginal tissue, often under unsanitary conditions. It is practiced in at least 28 countries globally and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that up to 140 million girls and women around the world have undergone some form of FGM.
It is practiced extensively in Africa, including in Kenya. But pressure from human-rights activists has so far compelled 16 African governments to legislate against FGM, in line with the 2005 Maputo Protocol, an African regional document that explicitly prohibits and condemns FGM.
Kenya has signed the protocol and banned the practice under the Children’s Act 2001, which protects girls from early marriage or forced FGM, and charges anyone found practicing FGM. But observers say the law has proved extremely difficult to enforce.
Anti-FGM activists estimate that 32 percent of all women between the ages of 15 and 49 in more than half of Kenya’s districts have undergone FGM. The numbers are high among the Kisii ethnic group, the Maasai, Kalenjin, Taita/Taveta and the Meru/Embu.
The estimates are highest in northeastern Kenya, where up to 98 percent of women are believed to have undergone infibulation – the removal of part or all of the external genitalia and/or sewing together of the vaginal opening, leaving only a small outlet for urine and menstrual flow.
Health experts say complications arising from the practice are common because most procedures are performed without an anaesthetic, using rudimentary tools in unsanitary conditions. The risk of spreading HIV/AIDS is also high.
According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), studies have shown that women who have undergone FGM are significantly more likely to experience difficulties during childbirth and that their babies are more likely to die as a result of the practice.
Apart from legislation, Kenyan authorities and NGOs are trying to raise public awareness through education campaigns and encouraging alternative rights of passage – a practice where communities maintain the rituals that lead adolescent girls to womanhood but exclude FGM.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=71087
Moureen should have been very clear about her situation from the beginning because by including the risk of FGM later on, she only raised suspicions at the Swedish Immigration office. Due to this, it is possible that they would have still rejected her application, even if she had a lawyer present during the interview.
Sometimes, the white man says that the fox must be chased away first then the hen can be warned against wondering into the bush. In chasing the fox, I would say that the Swedish authorities should stop violating the rights of this sister by granting her the right to stay. Sweden cannot make rules while breaking them at the same time without appearing callous and hypocritical. Female Genital Mutilation is a well known problem in Kenya and other parts of Africa and so it cannot be argued that Cheptoo is making up things. She comes from a society which mutilates women’s genitals and this alone should be enough proof that she will undergo this operation (which may threaten her life because she may bleed to death) if she is deported to Kenya.
Having chased the fox, Cheptoo wondered too much into the bush. How could she have put up such a weak case? Even if I were the Immigration official, I couldn’t have allowed her to stay. With the organized manner in which FGM is normally conducted, is it really possible that she may have escaped after a group of men were assigned the task of conducting the operation? Secondly, when did this happen because she is now 21, an age well past FGM as we know it. Is this convincing?
Is it possible that she could have escaped to a nearby Church (after spending the night in a maize plantation) as she says and is it really plausible that a woman in that Church could have taken the case to police? What was police expected to do? Is it this same woman who fixed a passport from the village, complete with visa for her to travel to Sweden and is it this same woman who fixed her air ticket? Surely, this was a pesa nane case to say the least. I thought that the 8.4.4 system could produce better graduates who could make better cases because this one does not wash.
Female Genital Mutilation
By Abdi-Noor Haji Mohamed (Eagle Of Hope)
Friday, August 18, 2006
Stop Female Genital mutilation. Stop FGM Please. Stop it now
Legs pulled apart
Knife went straight
Into my private parts
It cut across painfully
Cruel hands stitched me
Infibulated me ruthlessly
Blood drained in the summer heat
Disappeared into the waiting sand
Leaving me potentially impaired
Denying me to be a total woman
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewPoetry.asp?id=166649&AuthorID=12041
I fully support Mkulima’s challenge that Cheptoo’s case is shallow. If she is currently 21 years old and came to Sweden in 2006, then she was already above the average age for FGM before leaving Kenya.
Her story is too weak to be accepted by the Swedish Immigration Authorities that know the severity of FGM in Kenya, and the steps being taken to curb it. Although the measures yield very little prosecution, Kenyan women are still less likely to get asylum in Sweden on such grounds.
I find this Kenyan lady really cute. She ought not to be lazing around in the asylum system. Can she please contact me if she is not attached because I am interested in her and may be, we can work things out. I am single and may be, we can get together. Christmas and new year are approaching and I haven’t fixed anything yet. Its winter time and it is a big waste to see a cutie like this posing in the national media desperate for help. I have left my email with KSB and what she needs to do is to send an email to KSB asking for my contact. I am not saying that we need to start a relationship but may be we can date and may be something positive can come up. I hope fellow Kenyans will find this idea pleasant. We need to take care of ourselves and this is my motto. Let us reach out to members of our society who have not yet made it. I live in a two roomed flat and my door is open.
If Moureen Cheptoo gets asylum in Sweden because of FGM, then all the thousands of Kenyan women at risk should follow suit. However, it is well known that Sweden does not offer refugee status to Kenyan women because of this. Norway might have worked for her because the country is known for granting more women asylum due to gender-based violence. It is still difficult for a Kenyan because of the assumed political stability, compared to many other African countries.
With Cheptoo’s city-like face with trimmed and lined eyebrows, she does not look like one who had spent many hours in a maize plantation to escape ‘the cut.’ Most of the girls who undergo FGM in Kenya are rural-based and cannot even afford air fare to Europe.
This case is not convincing, that is why the Migration people have served her with a notice of deportation.
Bachalero you have really seen her stunning beauty that is being wasted in the immigration corridors chasing wind. She should get in touch with you to save herself a free trip back to the Kenyan hardship. What has she been doing for the past two years? Couldn’t she contact Kenyan sistas to help her hook up with bachelors like you? It would be a waste to have her in those dreadful cells during Xmas, yet you have a better offer. Cheptoo should be informed that she needs to be in touch with a potential rescuer at KSB.
I know Cheptoo but she pretends to be a chic of class who can’t even talk to some of her country’s sistas. We could have helped her with ideas a long time back, but she is just full of scorn thinking that she knows everything. Who cheated her that the FGM story will help her? It is too weak as some people have argued here and she is likely to be deported. If she changes her attitude and approaches us, then we shall give her the necessary help she needs. It’s about showing us respect, which she does not have so far.
This chic is too supuu there is no way she could have slept in a maize plantation. What a waste of time using the FGM excuse. She is still young and energetic and there are potential Kenyan bachelors in Stoky. She should have advertised here at KSB mapema. Osewe should start a dating section here for such cases.
Thanks for your support John. She looks like a “State House Girls” manzi wa Nairobi, Canivore/Florida 200 going breed, not the dirty, ragged, shoeless and smelling village pimbi from shags in Kacheliba who has been digging deep in some maize plantation to evade the cut.
She ought not to be wasting away with worries about deportation when she could be resting on my arms after fixing a warm meal of chapo and some menu I haven’t sampled for months because of my allergy to cooking. We could be taking a warm shower in the morning in my bath tab on Christmas day after some good time in town if things work out.
In fact, she could be my perfect Christmas present this season while I could be the solution she is looking for. I will wait and see if my star will shine this season for there to be some activity on my double bed which has been cold for some time after failed hunting expeditions in Stockholm pubs.
I need to stock some fleshy “permanent goods” in my crib because one night sit ups have bored me stiff and I think she has the kind of quality material that could make me rise up to the occasion at every swing to the kitchen to fix that evening tea with tangawitzi b4 we get down for the assignment.
Haki, this ka Cheptoo is getting in my brain and I am not sure whether this comment could further work out the magic. I pray that she is reading because then, I might also begin to get in her brain. Like a pulse, we can begin to get the right beat with xmass blues in the background and New year stars glittering before our very bright future together as one soul bound forever with mapenzi and away from stupid immigration nazis breaking the rules and worrying this little queen. If you have heard the song, “I am feeling hot hot hot”. Should I say more baby Chep?
I can’t recall any earlier cases of Kenyan women using FGM to seek asylum in Sweden. This is the first one for me, but after reading both the Swedish and English versions of the story, I feel that the Swedish Immigration should have followed their laid down rules before threatening to deport Moureen. Because of such failure, there are chances that her case might be re-considered positively during the appeal. But again, the Swedish law is tricky and very few appeals succeed.
Cheptoo will need a lot of evidence to prove that she was really going to be mutilated before fleeing from Kenya. Her case is rather weak compared to others from warring countries. If she had been from the DR Congo, Eritrea or Somalia, then there would have been higher chances of getting asylum for this reason, because the general suffering of those women is well-documented globally.
FGM cases are more favored when there is political instability in a country.
Bachalero: I need not say more because I can see that the more you gaze into those sweet, ‘sxi’ and warm eyes of kabebi Chep, the more your heart melts. I wish I was still a bachelor! Believe me, you and me would have gone for a rat race to be won by the best charmer. But in the spirit of Xmas, you win hands down with my full moral support.
Expressen should have taken a full picture of hers. But why worry, now that you have offered chapos and other grand dishes, plus heat in your king-size bed during the holidays, you will definitely get to see all the works.
Seriously, what has she been doing taking cover instead of appearing at various Kenyan nyam choms and patis during the past seasons? She should have taken advantage of those secret Madam Muhindi’s parties to be seen by bachelors like you. Ama she probably went the jungu way thinking they would pour manna on her in this paradise of Stocky. No way: Jungus wamejanjaruka.
It is the Kenyan men who are despised by some of our sistas that eventually rescue those wasted packages. Lakini baby Chep looks fresh, so don’t be scared.
Back to your plans for Chrisi with kabebi Chep: She really is no material from Chepalungu or Kapsoit market. She looks pedigree with a smooth skin which the Coastals would describe as: “Ya kutoa nyoka pangoni.”
If all goes according to your dreams, I hope Kasupuu Chep will soon contact the KSB boss, Bwana Osewe, then you can secretly see how to reach her. I shudder just watching her photo because it’s been a long time since I last saw a Kenyan chic in Stocky who would send my adrenaline pumping.
I wonder who threw her into this cold part of the world without basic survival strategies. If she was my relative or somebody I knew, I would never allow her to damage her credibility with the FGM nonsense which does not wash at all.
Anyway Bachalero, I wish you all the best in your plans for a warm Xmas at your crib with babe Chep. If there is a Kenyan sista who knows her, I hope she will be nice enough to let Osewe know, so that she can reach you ASAP.
Haiya! It’s a small world dear KSB readers. I have seen Cheptoo before in Hässelby and during the recent Ali Kiba show. She was too supuu even more than this photo, but I never thought she was in search of makaro. From her looks, she is not an FGM candidate; hiyo ni siasa tu ya survival.
Cheptoo needs new tricks and good luck, otherwise she will soon be under the December heat in Kenya.
I fully support anyone and everyone be it female or male trying to evade by default survive under preindisposed cicumstances,namely berbaric ,cultural or traditional practices one is faced with.What i dont condone is someone,thinking “smart”by trying to wiggle out of self created situation,without initial legal representation to legitimise onself, is a punch bellow the belt for the others whos cases are pending for “cross border migration”and are legitimate.What i am tying to say,is Cheptoos case might be legal, but she went it the wrong way thereby making other cases “persona non grata” resulting to any migrations authorities re-examining cases by investigation from the countries of origin.I may not know the genesis of many cross traditional FGMs,but what i know is that,FGM process starts when a woman hits puberty at the age of 14yrs latest 15yrs,so if Cheptoo claims that she escaped from FGM AT THE AGE OF 20,then she did not get her act together,i personally think,if her father knew that her daughter is accussing him of FGM,premature maritital rites……..etc she would be denied family rites. We should not spoil for others whose cases are genuine.i rest my case by saying that Cheptoo is a BABIE wa TAO!!!,cornered after her bubble has burst!!
Expressen must have spelt Cheptoo’s name wrongly as “Moureen” instead of Maureen. Anyway, I here she is on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Cheptoo-Maureen/1010377500
HI GUYZ TWO YEARS IS SO ENOUGH FOR THE USHAMBA IN MOUREEN TO BE OUT OF HER,INSTEAD OF YOU ACCUSSING HER LOOKS ,COULD YOU FIND A WAY OF HELPING HER ,I BEALIVE THE SITE IS MENT TO HELP KENYANS NOT TO DISMORAL
Talia:
It was by chance that KSB picked Cheptoo’s story from Expressen. She did not approach KSB. She knows that there is a Kenyan community in Stockholm, so why has she been hiding?
The opinions posted here are both supportive and critical. Therefore, if she bothers to read them, she can pick what is helpful for her situation. KSB is for providing information, but the reality is out there and she just needs to face it with the Immigration people. Don’t forget that one commentator offered to help her yesterday. Has she contacted KSB? No, I don’t think so.
Why don’t you help her if you are so caring?
mr ben somebody saying he can help cheptoo by going to his place i dont call that help.i dont see any comments that can be of help to her for now.and being so rude is not good
mr osewe ,sir thank you for trying to reconstruct ksb .it should be asite of improving ,encouraging and motivating kenyans weather in good or bad situations and i beleave kenya is a family in sweden .with objectives to construct kenya .
KSB: Welcome. Part of KSB’s agenda has always been to use the blog to inform, entertain and educate ourselves in the process of exploring issues from different points of view. I look forward to your valuable contributions.
Talia:
You seem to miss the point. Before Cheptoo went to Expressen, she knew there existed a Kenyan community in Stockholm. KSB will not give her papers; that is why I said, and repeat that you could as well help her if you care so much.
Many opinions have been raised here both in serious and jocular moods. Cheptoo came to Sweden in 2006 and when she dried of tricks, went to the Swedish newspaper. Why didn’t she come to KSB instead? Because she thought Swedish publicity would help. However, the Immigration office judges mainly by presented facts, not outside pressure.
You see, KSB is a blog and here people air their views, good or bad, as long as they are not offensive. Cheptoo knows there are Kenyans in Stockholm, so she needs to find her way around, otherwise with her current story, there will be another NO from the Immigration.
Talia, I don’t see anything rude in Ben’s comments. If you could share ideas on how to help Cheptoo, that would be very good. However, how can KSB help her while she is not in contact? Commentators learned of her from Expressen and since her case is at the Appeal level, she may only be rescued by a lawyer.
Some Kenyans just board planes from home thinking Stockholm is full of gold and once they are here, all will be smooth sailing. My advice is before anybody leaves home, it is important to know the real life here. She could as well have spent all that transport money on college fees and by now might have been on another level in Kenya.
In Sweden, she has probably been used by men in a worse manner than KSB’s Bachalero, who is offering her a cozy Christmas and possibly more goodies for the New Year.
Hej pple style up !! Yes,Maurine is cute but i saw her exactly when she came to the camp in kiruna.She was a totall typical country girl with a hidden beauty yet to be given a small polish and show the world what lies behind the african angel.Thats my story here.
Soon maurine came down to the city just like most asylum seekers would die to do.I suspect she thought she could maybe get some job while her case is still being worked on.Things have apparently worked well with this stackers prety girl.Maurine works very hard,a typical country girl and pays her taxes.
Hon vill inte arbeta svart !!
As a result har she been able to buy herself all a person can wish and basing on the fact she came from upcountry,then there is even more excitement.Thats what i am talking about.That she can now show off her beauty and think clearly in this lovely demomcratic land,Sverige.
I therefore fail to understand why some pple will judge her wrongly.That she is a high flier and that her story is fake.Shame shame shame !!
Hallo you live in europe and you should know that pple change alot because this is a land of opportunity.you can do what you want and be who you wanna be.You can easily dress how you want and splash yourself with as much make up as you have dreamt of.
I actually feel depressed about kenyans who stil carry with them a conservative way of thinking.I thnk then you are at the wrong place.Style up people!!
Maurine,i wish you all the best and hope that igrationsverket will give you some chance.i look at you and trust you.
John Kamozze:
It is the Immigration office that got suspicious of Cheptoo’s FGM story which she included later in her search for asylum. Good for her according to you, that she has been favored by cosmetics to improve her looks from a rural to an urban looking woman.
However, general knowledge shows that most FGM cases in Kenya occur during the teenage period and a majority of those women cannot afford air tickets to Europe. KSB commentators are allowed to discuss her, unless you are out to slap a ban on their freedom of expression.
Don’t take it personally, but chat forums and comment sections on blogs allow for all sorts opinion, as long as they are not offensive. I wonder why some people like you get edgy about basic criticism.
Eventually, it is the Swedish Immigration that will rule on Cheptoo’s fate and not KSB commentators, who just exchange information for both entertainment and exchanging knowledge. Don’t cut more than what you can chew in this debate because then, you will begin to choke and vomit.
John Kamozze:
Cheptoo should blame herself for presenting a weak case, therefore don’t get mad with KSB commentators. As commented by someome, going to a Swedish newspaper with her problem will only help improve their services, but may not strengthen her case. Re-read carefully why the Swedish Immigration office rejected her case:
“The Immigration authorities have argued that claims that her experiences were filed with Kenyan police came later and therefore, the Immigration authorities believe that she is non-credible. The authorities also say that she had not yet exhausted possibilities of protection in Kenya while another argument used in dismissing the case is that the risk of genital mutilation cannot constitute threat of persecution.”
chepto i wish you could have trusted yourself and not wash your dirty clothes in public nobody will help you here you will just shame you pretty look tokea mtaani. OF course whoever gave you that idea of going public just confused you. All the same Good luck long live in swedn!!!!!!!!!!!!