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Bid to save ‘Bosco’ from being deported

Friends of John Nyombi, pictured right, are appealing for his release after he was detained for immigration reasons. Friends of John Nyombi, pictured right, are appealing for his release after he was detained for immigration reasons.

CAMPAIGNERS in Southampton have just days to save a colleague from being deported back to Uganda where they fear he will be persecuted because of his sexuality.

John ‘Bosco’ Nyombi has been working with mentally ill people in the city for the past six years while his application to stay in the UK has been heard by the immigration authorities.

He fled to the country from Uganda where homosexuality is illegal and carries a punishment of life in prison. Bosco, as he is known, was also told his life could be in danger after his brother, a high-profile opposition campaigner, was murdered.

The 38-year-old was unexpectedly taken into custody this week after his last appeal was refused.

According to paperwork he has been given, he is due to fly back to Uganda on Sunday and has already been taken to an immigration centre in Dover.

Colleagues at Stoneham Housing Association, where he has worked almost since his arrival, are now launching a campaign including a petition, which they plan to send to the Home Office.

Friend and workmate Corina Piekaar said: “We just can’t believe this has happened. He has worked throughout his time here, paid tax and National Insurance and this is how he is treated. It’s disgraceful.

“He is such a lovely guy with a heart of gold. We just felt we needed to do something to stop this happening.”

Along with the campaign at work, friends at his local church in Portsmouth where he has been a regular member of the congregation for seven years, also held a prayer meeting last night.

Michael Woolley, co-ordinator of the Haslar Visitors’ Group that represents the interests of asylum seekers, said: “The way these arrests are carried out is disgraceful, without any chance to put affairs in order.

“John has signed regularly at a police station for years, and there is no reason to think he would abscond. Yet he was given no notice, no opportunity to pack a bag, to say goodbye to his friends or to sell his car.”

Comments(29)

obelisker says...
9:01am Fri 12 Sep 08

I am sure this guy is a lovely bloke, but does the U.K have to be responsible for other countries intolerance towards it's non-conforming citizens?

southy says...
9:19am Fri 12 Sep 08

has Uganda is part of the british commonwealth,yes we do obelisker.

Dr Alimantado says...
10:08am Fri 12 Sep 08

It is a shame that they are going to send this guy back when he was worked and contributed to our society. Would rather they send away some of the pikey scum we have to pay for instead.

This guy is easy pickings for our unfit government to demonstrate their new 'tough on immigration' campaign. Such a pity they have completely misunderstood the point yet again and are making an example of someone who is the type of person we should actually be welcoming.

It is the illegal immigrants that come and settle into a life of crime that we should be taking a tough stance on.

This place makes me sick

Usmillers says...
10:50am Fri 12 Sep 08

I have also worked with Bosco he is a reliable work colleague and a good friend. his Clients love him and are just as distraught at the thought of loosing him. He has tried his best to "fit in" and become a model citizen. I could stick my head out of my window and see people that should be deported but never have I thought this would happen to Bosco.
This government is an ****, they have taken his taxes and insurances allowed him to build a life own a car then treated him like a criminal because they hoped a nice low profile case like Bosco could be quitely removed from this country and added to Brown's love of statistics on the "there thats another got rid off" list.
I rarely get angry over these subjects but to coin a phrase there is no Justice just us!
Thanks England I'm so proud of you NOT!
PS to the idiot obelisker be really brave and list your real name and not hide yourself and your homophobia

Adrian Smith says...
10:56am Fri 12 Sep 08

To Usmillers:-

"to the idiot obelisker be really brave and list your real name and not hide yourself and your homophobia"

Mr (or Mrs) Pot meet Mr (or Mrs) Kettle.

Adrian Smith says...
10:58am Fri 12 Sep 08

Dr Alimantado wrote:
It is a shame that they are going to send this guy back when he was worked and contributed to our society. Would rather they send away some of the pikey scum we have to pay for instead.This guy is easy pickings for our unfit government to demonstrate their new 'tough on immigration' campaign. Such a pity they have completely misunderstood the point yet again and are making an example of someone who is the type of person we should actually be welcoming. It is the illegal immigrants that come and settle into a life of crime that we should be taking a tough stance on.This place makes me sick
Spot on.

In fact I work with a number of our decision makers who seem quite proud they seem to have illegal labour doing the nannying, cleaning and gardening.

Usmillers says...
11:10am Fri 12 Sep 08

C'mon Echo the word deleted on my comment is an animal not the rear end of a human!!!! there's no R in it

Usmillers says...
11:15am Fri 12 Sep 08

Aw c'mon Adrian do not use this to cast stones some of my dearest and closest friends are gay
And it's Bosco were commenting on not personal politics and you started throwing so leave it owt matey!!!!

Adrian Smith says...
12:10pm Fri 12 Sep 08

Usmillers wrote:
Aw c'mon Adrian do not use this to cast stones some of my dearest and closest friends are gay And it's Bosco were commenting on not personal politics and you started throwing so leave it owt matey!!!!
I really don't understand your point - I fully agree with Dr Alimantado's comment.

Andy Locks Heath says...
12:23pm Fri 12 Sep 08

I also agree with Adrian and Dr Alimantado. This chap seems to have earned some sort of right to stay through his exemplary work and behaviour. Why do the authorities pick on him when they will not send Islamic anti-British agitators back even though they abuse this country and its citizens?

Carpe Diem says...
1:24pm Fri 12 Sep 08

Just a question - How did Bosco manage to get a job ?

I thought asylum seekers could not work legally ?

Can anybody enlighten us on this ?


pete40 says...
2:23pm Fri 12 Sep 08

Dr Alimantado wrote:
It is a shame that they are going to send this guy back when he was worked and contributed to our society. Would rather they send away some of the pikey scum we have to pay for instead.This guy is easy pickings for our unfit government to demonstrate their new 'tough on immigration' campaign. Such a pity they have completely misunderstood the point yet again and are making an example of someone who is the type of person we should actually be welcoming. It is the illegal immigrants that come and settle into a life of crime that we should be taking a tough stance on.This place makes me sick
I agree entirely with Dr Alimantado. Bosco has given more contributions to this government through taxes etc than most of the so called citizens of this country.
He has been a role model during his time in this country, he has never broken any of our laws, has done what has been asked of him and this is how he is treated.
I think it is disgraceful and quite frankly it makes me ashamed to be british.

Usmillers says...
2:51pm Fri 12 Sep 08

The company contacted homeoffice they said no problem!!!!
to Planet earth
pot and kettles come to mind which is why clear concise comments are required ;O)

alby123 says...
3:52pm Fri 12 Sep 08

This is typical. We deport the genuine, hard working immmigrants and yet those who commit crimes here go to our jails and are paid for by tax payers.

Why is it we rarely hear about radical muslim hate preachers being deported? Or foreign criminals?

It always seems to be the geniune ones, who are easy pickings for the Labour government which is trying to fool us into believing that it has a harder stance on immigration.

So much for human rights. We can't deport some scum criminal because they may be tortured in their home country and yet this is somehow different?


Finlay says...
4:51pm Fri 12 Sep 08

So then its one law for one and another for the rest huh?

The man is in Britain illegally and left Uganda knowing that would be his status. Why did he not go to France, Germany, Italy ......

I am an alien in the US and it is the most difficult land to get into in the world and it is not cast in stone either. I can be kicked out for a motoring offence if they so chose and that means forever.

One of the main reasons I left Britain is because of the lack of control on blocking illegals entering and ******* over the country as so many do. It turns out that there are hundreds of thousands of indigenous Brits leaving the country with that same reason on their list, often appearing at or close to the top of it as well.

You have a handful of people say let them stay and a huge number say we do not have the resources to sustain such a deluge of illegals squeezing the country to death.

Iwould sooner be an alien in a foreign land instead of an alien in my own.

Dont take this personally Bosco but you knew the score before and when you entered the UK so your times up buddy - Bye

St. Ray says...
5:31pm Fri 12 Sep 08

This a good start. Now let's hope the authorities continue the good work & deport all illegals ignoring the minority who will try to create an"outcry" on each occasion. If you don't have the necessary documntation & permissions in place then don't come here, we have enough of our own to look after, including the pikey scumbags previously metioned. We can deal with them after we have cleansed the nation of the illegals!

obelisker says...
5:47pm Fri 12 Sep 08

Adrian Smith wrote:
To Usmillers:-

"to the idiot obelisker be really brave and list your real name and not hide yourself and your homophobia"

Mr (or Mrs) Pot meet Mr (or Mrs) Kettle.
As a regular at the Edge please don't confuse the issue by calling me Homophobic O.K, nor am I racist, many countries the world over do not tolerate gay people, just because the U.K does should they all be free to pitch up here.

obelisker says...
5:52pm Fri 12 Sep 08

southy wrote:
has Uganda is part of the british commonwealth,yes we do obelisker.
If it was that simple Southy, why has his plea to stay failed...the answer my friend is blowing in the wind...and it says NO.

obelisker says...
6:21pm Fri 12 Sep 08

And another thing, when someone turns up at Dover and claims to have been tortured they want to see the scars, if a bloke turns up and says "well I'm gay 'innit" what do the Officers say.."What's your favourite Album" and if he says "Judy Garland plays the London Palladium", it's o.k mate your in..

Dr Alimantado says...
8:48pm Fri 12 Sep 08

Finlay wrote:
So then its one law for one and another for the rest huh?The man is in Britain illegally and left Uganda knowing that would be his status. Why did he not go to France, Germany, Italy ......I am an alien in the US and it is the most difficult land to get into in the world and it is not cast in stone either. I can be kicked out for a motoring offence if they so chose and that means forever.One of the main reasons I left Britain is because of the lack of control on blocking illegals entering and ******* over the country as so many do. It turns out that there are hundreds of thousands of indigenous Brits leaving the country with that same reason on their list, often appearing at or close to the top of it as well.You have a handful of people say let them stay and a huge number say we do not have the resources to sustain such a deluge of illegals squeezing the country to death.Iwould sooner be an alien in a foreign land instead of an alien in my own.Dont take this personally Bosco but you knew the score before and when you entered the UK so your times up buddy - Bye
it is not that clear in the story but I am not sure he is an 'illegal' as you like to put it. I think he is an asylum seeker who has had his request refused despite fulfilling his obligations and contributing to society.

In answer to Obelisker, I don't think it is as simple as saying 'why was his request refused?' It doesn't mean he SHOULD be deported. It is a numbers game and he makes up a number which is then used to make up a statistic.

I don't care about his race or sexuality, itis clear that this person is being picked on. They aren't deporting the criminal element because they are so incompetent they don't know where they are

obelisker says...
9:11pm Fri 12 Sep 08

Dr Alimantado wrote:
Finlay wrote:
So then its one law for one and another for the rest huh?The man is in Britain illegally and left Uganda knowing that would be his status. Why did he not go to France, Germany, Italy ......I am an alien in the US and it is the most difficult land to get into in the world and it is not cast in stone either. I can be kicked out for a motoring offence if they so chose and that means forever.One of the main reasons I left Britain is because of the lack of control on blocking illegals entering and ******* over the country as so many do. It turns out that there are hundreds of thousands of indigenous Brits leaving the country with that same reason on their list, often appearing at or close to the top of it as well.You have a handful of people say let them stay and a huge number say we do not have the resources to sustain such a deluge of illegals squeezing the country to death.Iwould sooner be an alien in a foreign land instead of an alien in my own.Dont take this personally Bosco but you knew the score before and when you entered the UK so your times up buddy - Byeit is not that clear in the story but I am not sure he is an 'illegal' as you like to put it. I think he is an asylum seeker who has had his request refused despite fulfilling his obligations and contributing to society.

In answer to Obelisker, I don't think it is as simple as saying 'why was his request refused?' It doesn't mean he SHOULD be deported. It is a numbers game and he makes up a number which is then used to make up a statistic.

I don't care about his race or sexuality, itis clear that this person is being picked on. They aren't deporting the criminal element because they are so incompetent they don't know where they are
Yes, he is an easy target because he is not living on the fringes and to some extent he is playing game, unlike many many others who are far more deserving of being deported due to their criminality. Although just because he has a catchy name ,a 'cause' ,and a band of do-gooder supporters it does not negate the fact that he has been ordered to leave the country, who decides on these issues,the Government or a group of god bothering sandal wearers?

Dr Alimantado says...
11:24am Sat 13 Sep 08

obelisker wrote:
Dr Alimantado wrote:Finlay wrote:So then its one law for one and another for the rest huh?The man is in Britain illegally and left Uganda knowing that would be his status. Why did he not go to France, Germany, Italy ......I am an alien in the US and it is the most difficult land to get into in the world and it is not cast in stone either. I can be kicked out for a motoring offence if they so chose and that means forever.One of the main reasons I left Britain is because of the lack of control on blocking illegals entering and ******* over the country as so many do. It turns out that there are hundreds of thousands of indigenous Brits leaving the country with that same reason on their list, often appearing at or close to the top of it as well.You have a handful of people say let them stay and a huge number say we do not have the resources to sustain such a deluge of illegals squeezing the country to death.Iwould sooner be an alien in a foreign land instead of an alien in my own.Dont take this personally Bosco but you knew the score before and when you entered the UK so your times up buddy - Byeit is not that clear in the story but I am not sure he is an 'illegal' as you like to put it. I think he is an asylum seeker who has had his request refused despite fulfilling his obligations and contributing to society.In answer to Obelisker, I don't think it is as simple as saying 'why was his request refused?' It doesn't mean he SHOULD be deported. It is a numbers game and he makes up a number which is then used to make up a statistic.I don't care about his race or sexuality, itis clear that this person is being picked on. They aren't deporting the criminal element because they are so incompetent they don't know where they areYes, he is an easy target because he is not living on the fringes and to some extent he is playing game, unlike many many others who are far more deserving of being deported due to their criminality. Although just because he has a catchy name ,a 'cause' ,and a band of do-gooder supporters it does not negate the fact that he has been ordered to leave the country, who decides on these issues,the Government or a group of god bothering sandal wearers?
lol, a catchy name goes a long way!

bryantml says...
11:50am Sat 13 Sep 08

Bosco is a dear friend and a loyal colleague. His main concern has always been to make life durable for those less fortunate than most of us. Isn't it ironic therefor that we seem to punish those that make themselves easy targets;'Cannon Fodder'polititions with what should be defunct policies that allow those that would flout our laws, to get through the net whilst honest hard working individuals like bosco to be 'Picked up!' Like a common criminal!' He's looked after people with severe mental health issues for seven years now, disorders that require extensive care and understanding. Many with these illnesses have been able to sustain a better quuality of life by the efforts of people such as Bosco! They are gifted people and hard to find in our profession and indeed in my opinion, in life generally; they are infact 'Gold dust!' When we find one, we should nurture their talent and inspire our young by their example.

We would invite all of you out there to stand with us . This injustice falls on us all to stand for what is right!We his friends and colleagues can't do it alone.There are situations when we owe it to those that will most definatley need the likes of our friend to support us. To demostrate to those that we put in power,that policies need to be challenged if there are going to deemed credible, effective and flexible enough to demonstrate tolerance in individual cases, and judged on their own merit, otherwise-
What a waist!!!
Best wishes Bosco-Kev

bryantml says...
12:55pm Sat 13 Sep 08

Kevin/Denzil:Good luck to all friends and colleague of Boco in their quest for justic.

obelisker says...
1:10pm Sat 13 Sep 08

bryantml wrote:
Bosco is a dear friend and a loyal colleague. His main concern has always been to make life durable for those less fortunate than most of us. Isn't it ironic therefor that we seem to punish those that make themselves easy targets;'Cannon Fodder'polititions with what should be defunct policies that allow those that would flout our laws, to get through the net whilst honest hard working individuals like bosco to be 'Picked up!' Like a common criminal!' He's looked after people with severe mental health issues for seven years now, disorders that require extensive care and understanding. Many with these illnesses have been able to sustain a better quuality of life by the efforts of people such as Bosco! They are gifted people and hard to find in our profession and indeed in my opinion, in life generally; they are infact 'Gold dust!' When we find one, we should nurture their talent and inspire our young by their example.

We would invite all of you out there to stand with us . This injustice falls on us all to stand for what is right!We his friends and colleagues can't do it alone.There are situations when we owe it to those that will most definatley need the likes of our friend to support us. To demostrate to those that we put in power,that policies need to be challenged if there are going to deemed credible, effective and flexible enough to demonstrate tolerance in individual cases, and judged on their own merit, otherwise-
What a waist!!!
Best wishes Bosco-Kev
"What a waist" Hey come on leave the fatties out of this!

Karen Ambler says...
9:26pm Sat 13 Sep 08

The deportation of John Bosco Nyombi (Bosco to his friends) is an outrage, He has made a massive contribution to society since he has been in the country, and genuinely fears for his life if sent back. His brother has already been murdered!!!!... how much more has to happen for him to be allowed to seek asylum in this country... The government has happily taken income taxes off him since he has been here, not to mention National Insurance! He has kept to all regulations set down and signed on as required, unlike alot of others who come in falsly seeking asylum, then go into hiding, work illegally, avoid paying income taxes etc etc..
The government have treated him worse than British treat their animals!! He will now be deported either to live out his life in custody or handed over to the tribes in Uganda, where he will be certain to meet his death... not because he ever commited a crime, but purely just because he is gay... It's an absolute disgrace... call us a humanitarian society!!!!!... Deporting Bosco is cruel and he will almost certainly meet his death when he arrives in Uganda.

markpsouthampton says...
9:36pm Sat 13 Sep 08

Some people dont lie.
Its about time someone actually spoke with a caring attitude.
I can confirm that Bosco is Gay and has been crying all night fearfull of his return.

markpsouthampton says...
9:38pm Sat 13 Sep 08

If anyone else wants to make heartless anti immegration speaches just reflect first.
Hatred is not nice.

bryantml says...
10:43am Sun 14 Sep 08

I heard the news on the radio this morning and I hope this will lend itself to a final positive conclusion, otherwise we are all at risk in an intolerant society, regardless Obelisk of what ever shape, size, origin, or religion we are. Remember Hitler...Master race!

What a WASTE!!

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