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Her
nightmare began when airport officer thought mouth didn't match passport
photo
By Sam
Kutesa
Raveena Aulakh
STAFF REPORTER
THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009
Suaad Hagi Mohamud was done in by her lips.
A Kenyan official detained the Toronto woman in Nairobi because her lips
didn't match the ones in her passport photograph, according to documents
released by her lawyer yesterday.
"I find it really troubling that was the basis of stopping her," said
Raoul Boulakia, Mohamud's Toronto lawyer.
Documents submitted in a Nairobi court curtly explain why she was
detained: "After a comparison was done, it emerged that although the
passenger and the passport holder had the same facial features, that
passenger's lips were different from that of the passport holder."
Mohamud has been marooned in Nairobi since May 17. The 31-year-old
mother was on her way back to Toronto when she says a Kenyan officer
stopped her at the Nairobi airport for not looking like her
four-year-old passport photo.
She spent eight days in jail and was released on bail with no travel
papers. Kenyan officials sent her passport to Canadian consular
officials, who said she was an "imposter," voided the passport and sent
it back to the Kenyans for prosecution.
She asked to be fingerprinted but the Canada Border Services Agency
later admitted it didn't have earlier prints to make a match.
But the Somali-born woman scored a small victory yesterday when the
Canadian government agreed to DNA testing.
The government will also ask Kenya to postpone criminal proceedings
against her till DNA testing is completed.
Mohamud is due in a Nairobi court tomorrow. She could be sent back to
jail or even deported to her lawless native land.
"The government is asking them to delay (proceedings) for 10 to 12
weeks," said Boulakia. "But I don't know if the Kenyans will do that."
DNA testing will be done on Mohamud, her son and husband, both of whom
are in Toronto. Boulakia said her DNA sample will be taken within three
days and shipped to Canada immediately.
The entire process will cost $810 – to be paid by the government – and
will be completed within 10 days.
"We will know Suaad is really Suaad in less than two weeks," Boulakia
said.
He agrees it is a step forward but he is cautious. "I think that we are
making some progress and once we have scientific proof of identity, I
can't imagine what would be left for the government to say."
Yesterday, a spokesperson for Canada Border Services Agency declined
comment. "... as this case is currently before the courts, it would be
inappropriate for me to comment," Patrizia Giolti wrote in an email to
the Star.
In Nairobi, Mohamud said she was "very happy and relieved" with the news
of DNA testing. "It's a very good thing. I feel closer to home and I
can't wait to hug my son."
Source: Toronto Star, July 23, 2009
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