News / National
Zim granny finally deported from the UK
26 Oct 2013 at 08:01hrs | Views
Grandmother Evenia Mawongera was finally deported to Zimbabwe last night. She was put on a Kenya Airways flight at Heathrow at 8pm.
Her daughter, Loreen Mawongera, was with her during her ordeal in the departure area of Heathrow Airport.
After months of campaigning to persuade Home Secretary Theresa May to allow her to stay, Evenia had been due to be put on an Ethiopia Airlines flight at 9pm. But she missed it. She was then put on a Kenyan flight yesterday.
Loreen Mawongera, clearly drained by the ordeal, said she did not want to talk about what happened at the airport on Thursday or what her mother was facing.
Another campaigner, Jan Wild-Grant, said that, on Thursday, lawyers acting for Evenia failed to secure a judicial review into the deportation order.
Ms Mawongera, 55, who has made Leicester her home and has two children and four grandchildren here, has been an outspoken critic of President Robert Mugabe's regime and fears for her life if she goes back to Zimbabwe.
She has made a number of failed applications to remain in the UK to be with her family. She fled Zimbabwe 10 years ago and has become a well-respected member of the Methodist Church in Leicester.
Her daughter, Loreen Mawongera, was with her during her ordeal in the departure area of Heathrow Airport.
After months of campaigning to persuade Home Secretary Theresa May to allow her to stay, Evenia had been due to be put on an Ethiopia Airlines flight at 9pm. But she missed it. She was then put on a Kenyan flight yesterday.
Loreen Mawongera, clearly drained by the ordeal, said she did not want to talk about what happened at the airport on Thursday or what her mother was facing.
Another campaigner, Jan Wild-Grant, said that, on Thursday, lawyers acting for Evenia failed to secure a judicial review into the deportation order.
Ms Mawongera, 55, who has made Leicester her home and has two children and four grandchildren here, has been an outspoken critic of President Robert Mugabe's regime and fears for her life if she goes back to Zimbabwe.
She has made a number of failed applications to remain in the UK to be with her family. She fled Zimbabwe 10 years ago and has become a well-respected member of the Methodist Church in Leicester.
Source - online
