Kenyan National who lost his job in UK over immigration status fights for benefits
A Kenyan national Mohamed Ali Hirsy 78, who is London resident and has lived in the UK since 1965, had been working as a housing officer for Tower Hamlets Council for 26 years when he was let go around 15 years ago because he couldn’t supply proof of his immigration status.
Since then, he has had to survive on £400 a month from his pension and has been unable to travel back to Kenya to see family. He was granted a British passport after the Windrush scandal broke in April 2018, but more than a year after submitting his compensation claim, he is still waiting.
His local MP, Stephen Timms, wrote to the Home Office requesting an update on his claim and received a response last month in which the department apologised for the delay, but provided no indication as to when he would receive a response or any interim payment.
Mr Ali Hirsy told The Independent: “I’ve phoned [the Windrush helpline] between 10 to 15 times and it’s always the same thing: we are doing our best; we can’t tell you anything; we are busy; you have to wait.
“With this new coronavirus variant, I am totally locked up at home. I am very lonely; it’s depressing. I would like to book a flight to Kenya in February to move back there, and I want to know whether I will get an interim payment by that date. But nobody can give me an answer.”
Source-https://www.independent.co.uk/
Kenyan National who lost his job in UK over immigration status fights for benefits
