Barnardo's: Update on boy facing deportation to Malawi

Thursday, 05 Apr 2007 16:08

The barrister representing Dumisani Lungu, a seven-year-old boy who was due to be deported to Malawi on 3rd April to face the prospect of dying alone after watching his sick parents die first, has won a restraining order and the family now cannot be removed pending full consideration of the application for judicial review.

Martin Narey, chief executive of Barnardo’s said:

“This is a huge relief for Dumisani and his parents. We can only await the final decision and hope that they are successful in their appeal to stay here. We would like to thank all the people who continue to offer their support to Dumisani and his parents, it is of great comfort to them.”


Background to the story:

On 3rd April, just hours before he and his family were due to be put on a flight, Dumisani Lungu, with his mother Caroline Manchinjili* (26) and his father Brian Lungu (35) were informed that the Home Office could not provide an appropriate escort, therefore they were unable to fly.

Martin Narey, chief executive of Barnardo's said: “We are relieved that Caroline and her family will not face deportation tonight, but the future for this traumatised and vulnerable family is still completely uncertain. We will continue to press for them to remain in the UK.”

Martin Narey continued ‘There are, we think, about 20 children like Dumisani, who are affected by HIV, who are facing immediate deportation and could, if they remained in Britain, enjoy a full life into adulthood. However, we, the fourth richest nation on earth, are going to send this seven year old to Malawi to face an unthinkable future of seeing his mum and dad die and then die alone. This is surely wrong.

‘Dumisani’s gran, the last hope to care for him to in Malawi died from Aids last year. What has happened to this country’s moral compass when we can countenance condemning an innocent seven-year-old to a certain and horrific death.’

Both parents are HIV positive and Caroline also has epilepsy. Her doctor says that Caroline is not fit to fly and without her medication for epilepsy she is likely to die very soon after arriving in Malawi – possibly within one week.

Since arriving in the UK in 2005, they have made an application for asylum and then gone on to appeal, but have failed on both occasions. Barnardo’s has supported the family as they have gone through this process. In the early hours of Friday morning officials from the immigration service arrived at their home in Stockport, Cheshire and took the family out in their pyjamas. Caroline says that they were unable to gather any possessions or even to collect the drugs vital to treating her epilepsy.

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