A storm of concern has erupted within Canada’s Kenyan diaspora as Reverend Rosalind Wanyeki, a respected pastor and community leader, faces imminent deportation to the very country she once fled for her life.
Scheduled for removal on August 7, Wanyeki’s case has become a flashpoint in the debate over Canada’s immigration system, and a symbol of what critics describe as its cold indifference toward undocumented migrants with deep roots in the community.
Reverend Wanyeki arrived in Canada several years ago with her two infant children, fleeing persecution from a powerful church figure in Kenya. Since then, she has transformed her life, founding a church, establishing a business, and offering vital emotional, spiritual, and pastoral care to over 1,000 Kenyan immigrants living in the Greater Toronto Area.
Her looming deportation has sparked outrage and heartbreak among those she has served tirelessly. “Reverend Rosalind has been a pillar in our lives,” said Reverend John Munywoki, a fellow clergyman. “Her absence would leave a spiritual vacuum that cannot be filled easily.”
Despite community support and legal appeals, the Canadian immigration system appears poised to carry out the removal, prompting renewed calls for reforms.
Activists with the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change are urging authorities to halt the deportation and honour the government’s 2021 promise to regularise undocumented migrants contributing to Canadian society.
Wanyeki’s legal team continues to fight for her permanent residency and awaits a risk assessment ruling. However, time is running out, and advocates fear that deportation could be executed before all legal avenues are exhausted.
As the countdown to August 7 continues, the fate of Reverend Wanyeki remains uncertain, and with it, the future of a community that sees her not just as a pastor, but as family.
