Malawian couple still fighting against deportation in Ireland

Aug 08, 2016 Politics 32
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Angella Chigalu

Clement Chigaru and Angella Peters, a Malawian couple living in Ireland, continue to battle successfully against attempts by the State to deport them after their claims to asylum were dismissed.

Their most recent success last week was to have the Supreme Court uphold an injunction against their deportation. Their Lordships’ decision was concerned only with the couple’s children who are well settled in Ireland, and not in any way with the bizarre asylum claims made by their parents.

Initially, the couple made up the fairy story that Peters’ uneducated father in Malawi is HIV positive, and to cure his condition he had said that he must have sex with their daughter; she was only one year old at the time (1).

Angella Chigalu
Angella in Ireland.

This apparently left the far-better educated couple with no other choice but to flee half way around the World to Ireland. When that story was disbelieved by the authorities, Chigaru then applied for subsidiary protection, saying that the family risked serious harm in Malawi if deported there. However, all claims made to date have now been dismissed by immigration tribunals and the High Court as not being credible.

Chigaru and Peters started a counter attack by dropping off immigration radar. They changed their address so that they could not be located for deportation, and stopped their periodic, routine visits for reporting to the immigration authorities. However, they both continued to work illegally, Peters alone earning €100 per hour as a clinical hypnotherapist, both at Irish Hypnosis and as a freelance (4) (5).  Chigaru worked as an actor, stagehand, and writer.

Last year, Chigaru contacted the authorities to try to regularise their status, saying that he would meet them if they would guarantee not to deport the family. The offer was refused, so the family sought an injunction against deportation from the Appeal Court. The Court noted the baseless stories made by the family in their asylum claims, and that both Chigaru and Peters completely lacked credibility and integrity in their dealings with the authorities. However, it granted the injunction, but solely on the grounds that the children know no other life than that in Ireland.

Early this year, the authorities were granted leave to appeal to the Supreme Court in order to have the injunction overturned, but in a judgement issued late July their Lordships refused to do so (2). On that happy note Chigaru and Peters remain in Ireland.

The State will now have real difficulties deporting the family unless it can demonstrate that the children will not suffer in any way in going to Malawi with their parents. The longer it takes them to do that then the less likely the injunction will be overturned.

Clement Chigalu
Clement Chigalu struggling in Ireland.

The family are being successful in their fight to remain because the Irish have set up an asylum system which allows themselves to be exploited by the devious who can afford to keep pursuing legal challenges. The system allows near-endless appeals to tribunals and to the courts whenever a claim is dismissed. Even when appeals exhausted by the asylum route, claimants such as Chigaru and Peters can turn to something called “subsidiary protection”, which is defined rather vaguely as follows:

“Subsidiary protection is protection to be granted to a person in respect of whom substantial grounds have been shown for believing that the person concerned, if returned to his or her country of origin, would face a real risk of suffering serious harm and who is unable or, owing to such risk, unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country, and who is not excluded from being eligible for subsidiary protection.”

It would seem that Chigaru and Peters are thirsting for a good life in countries such as Ireland through family connections and/or themselves having previously lived outside Malawi. Chigaru has at least two siblings living in the US, while Peters lived in Leeds, UK, for some years, studying at Park Lane College (6)(7). Shortly thereafter, she travelled for a while in the US.

 

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32 Comments

  2. No big news apa if you want to survive kulikonse umaenela kupeza njira yopangila survive….kupepha asylum sikolakwika bola upatsedwe …problem ili ndi munthu wakuda timing alibe akafika pa malo especially wakumalawi …amatheka waipepha asylum iliyonseyo malo moti azichepetse awoneke ngati wavutikadi …ayi ndithu koma ma party mose wayambila ..akatero kungwidwa drink and driving iyayi koma ndewu …waiwala zoti ali manja mwaboma any step angaponye boma limakhala likumuona ..nde amazifusa ku ma meeting awowo kuti munthu uyu ngati akupanga zithu izi asanalandile chilolezo chokhala dziko lathuli ..nde akazalandila chilolezo azaposatu pamenepa..basi nde amangoyamba kukusungani osakupatsani ..mpaka muzatope nokha ndikuthawako..try to live a low profile life mukakhala muli kumeneko ..muzachitilidwa chisoni fast ..otherwise muzadikilila until you get oid

  15. Pple we need to understand according to UNHRC. Aslym seeker is approved according to what are yo reasons u left yo country,eg war, political violence etc. That does not include poverty. Asylum is a refugee permission by the country u are. And they have a right to send u back if they is peace in yo country. So Malawi is a free country. They understand that we are seeking financial support not refugee. Good luck if they will keep them

  16. Thanks Dr. sule for your kindness, everybody know HIV is a deadly disease I was once a HIV positive and Cancer, am from south africa am 32 years I contacted this disease when I was 27 I was using drug over since, just last week here I see this mary benjami testimony that her HIV was cured by dr sule so surprised when I read the testimony and I dont believe there is cure to HIV and I see another testimony about the same man, then I have to try I get the real true of this testimony and I whasaap the number below it and the man answer me he ask to t sent money to buy the necessary iterms that he wiil use in prepareing the cure so we can start immediately i send the money well I dont know how he did it but god know. I promise you,you we rejoice like me pls dont ignor this message is real god dont come to heal by him self he sent his servant and this man is used by god believe me dont believe that evil tout that hiv dose not have cure becouse there is nothing my god can not do just have fiath and try him this is his whatsaap no +2348162447651

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