Mayen dares Kenya over child deportation drama
Peter Mayen Majongdit, the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, has vowed to launch an all-out legal war against the Kenyan government for deporting his children.
Fourteen children who were living alone in a rented apartment in Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city were safely returned to Juba by Kenyan Immigration Department with Kenya suspecting the minors could have fallen in the hands of child trafficking syndicate.
But according to Mayen, the children left Juba on February 25 and 29, 2022, for studies in Kenya accompanied by one of their uncles, and they were received by an officer from the South Sudanese Embassy, claims that City Review could not independently verify.
“My children had diplomatic passports which deserve diplomatic immunity as sons and daughters of the national minister,” he said in a statement on Monday.
Mayen claims that the children were none the less deported after he allegedly refused to pay $100,000 bribe demanded by Kenyan Department of Criminal Investigation.
“On March 23, Kenyan police in Kilimani arrested my children in their house of residence at midnight despite the diplomatic status.” The embassy and caretaker of the children were threatened by Kenyan Police (DCI). My request to the government of Kenya was to bring my 14 children back home. Finally, the children are back home.
“After reaching out to relevant authority, the DCI (the Directorate of Criminal Investigations) requested a ransom (sic) of $100,000 or my children were to be taken to Children Rescue Centre and Court of Law and asked me as National Minister in Republic of South Sudan to go to Kenya and settle the issue amicably with the DCI by paying $100,000 to redeem my children,” he explained.
Kenyan Embassy in Juba and the Immigration Department in Kenya did not respond to our calls.
Yesterday, the minister said that he will make the Kenya government to pay for their mistakes.
“For these actions, there shall always (be) equal reaction!” he dared.
Damning allegations
South Sudan’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Deng Dau Deng, confirmed to The City Review that the case was handled diplomatically between the two countries.
Deng stressed that the bilateral cooperation between Kenya and South Sudan was vital, adding the government had not written any petition because the case was already solved and the children had returned to the country safely.
“We have good bilateral relations with Kenya, we have thousands of South Sudanese in Kenya, although such things happen, this should not destroy our relationship with Kenya,” he added.
Deng and Major General Amou Aneith Reec, the Director of the Security Interpol received the 14 children, aged between six and 12.
They seven girls and seven boys.
The Kenyan government claimed the children lived in an apartment without a caregiver, but Mayen claimed that they were taken care of by his brother and his brother’s wife who escorted them.
