Masumbuko is a young Kenyan dude who arrived in Sweden some months back to look for greener pastures in Scandinavia. He fled from joblessness in Kenya, poverty, frustrations, deprivation and a host of other vices that have ravaged our country as a result of poor political leadership in an otherwise rich country.
To move to Sweden, Masumbuko told KSB that he was helped by Kwasa, a close relative who has settled in Stockholm and who managed to fix a tourist visa for him on condition that once he arrived in Sweden, he would have to work out by himself how he would settle in Sweden because he had refused to heed warnings to the effect that here, the big problem is not arriving but rather settling down because of problems na ma pepe.
His main argument was that there are so many Kenyans who have settled in Sweden and that if others have made it before, there is no reason why he should not make it also.
“In Kenya, I started a Mitumba business from scratch but it failed because of corruption. I don’t see why I should not make it once I arrive because I have been told that there are lots of jobs to take up in Sweden”, he allegedly told his relative Kwasa.
Immediately after his arrival, he was orientated by Kwasa who gave him all the basic information he needed to begin the process of settling down in Sweden. After two months, he was still going nowhere because the key strategy he had been given of fixing a Swedish woman to marry wasn’t working as quickly as he had expected. Swedish girls were not picking up Kenyan men like apples in the garden and when he spoke to KSB, he admitted that he had overestimated the romantic marketability of Kenyan men in Sweden.
He had a three months visa and when he noticed that time was running out, he met a Kenyan who advised him to buy time by seeking asylum. After weighing all his options, he matched to the Department of Immigration at Solna and declared that his life was in danger and that he wanted kujitupa (seek asylum).
HID IN THE BUSH FOR THREE DAYS
When he was called in for an interview, he said that he had fled post election violence in Kenya and that all members of his family had been killed by the Kalenjin worriors who also burnt down their house in Rift Valley. According to part of the story line which he availed to KSB, Masumbuko’s relatives who survived the wanton killings after Kibaki stole the vote last December were lynched in a Church where they had taken refuge. He told the Swedish authorities that he was currently disorientated psychologically because his life had been turned upside down by the post election violence.
“I have nowhere to go because the whole of my village was razed down”, he wrote in an initial statement handed over to the Swedish Immigration authorities.
When asked how he fled Kenya, he said that he hid in the bush for three days where he had no food or water. At one point, he was nearly caught as a group of youths who were carrying spears, arrows, matchetes, rungus and other crude weapons passed by but he pretended to be dead and they left him.
If he is deported to Kenya, he will be arrested because a contact in Kenya had written a letter to him saying that he is wanted in connection with a group of youth he allegedly set up to defend members of his community from attacks. He has now been given a lawyer who is helping him with the case while he has been given a Personal Assistant to help him find his way in Sweden as he awaits for a decision on the case. He has produced several pictures showing how members of his village were attacked by Kalenjin opponents in the Rift Valley.
Although he lives at the refugee camp, he visits Kwasa from time to time. At the camp, he met Wilkista, a Kenyan lady who has also sought asylum on grounds that if she is deported to Kenya, she will be forced to undergo Female Genital Mutilation.
Masumbuko said that he wants to be open about his case because he needs help from Wakenya. He needs a job, accommodation and new ideas on how he can go about his mission. He will be coming to Nyama Choma this Sato to meet Wakenya. KSB will update readers about the excursions of Masumbuko.
Okoth Osewe
About the Author
