Our friend and colleague Bryan Mucheriwa is being threatened with deportation to Zimbabwe on 21sth July 2021 after living in the UK with his wife and children for nearly 20 years. He is currently detained in a detention centre at Heathrow airport along with up to 150 other Zimbabweans. Please sign the national petition here.

Bryan will not only be missed by his family, but by many other people from Wakefield and beyond who have appreciated his friendship over this time.  People still love him despite his being a Chelsea supporter!

Some know Bryan as an enthusiastic and talented DJ, others know him as a trustee of the local charity - Wakefield District City of Sanctuary where he has been volunteering for years.

Bryan is a talented artist who works in the Art House along with many other local artists. His work is beautiful, here's a video of Bryan at an exhibition in Leeds.

Deportation to Zimbabwe would be no holiday, in fact Bryan would be in serious danger. A full statement from human rights group Restoration of Human Rights Zimbabwe says, "the Government of Zimbabwe has an atrocious human rights record with so many recorded cases of state sponsored murder, abductions, enforced disappearances, torture, rape, excessive pre-trial incarceration and general persecution of those perceived to be enemies of the state. In this category fall members of opposition political parties, human rights activists, journalists and the diaspora community." Bryan would be in serious danger if he was to return to Zimbabwe and we need to keep him here with his family.

In an interview with the Independent this week, Bryan explained "How can I cope there? I’ll be in danger. And if I’m sent back there, I don’t know when I’ll see my kids again.”

Currently the UK Foreign Office advise that nobody travels there. It is not safe, and many Zimbabweans fear for their lives if they hold dissident views. 

We believe that the UK Home Office should immediately stop these planned flights to Zimbabwe.  They are unjust, and cruel.

We all want to be free to enjoy a family life, to work with friends, and to engage in our passions - like art - or even supporting Chelsea!  Wakefield which aspires to City of Culture status, would be a much poorer city without Bryan.

We love Bryan and we want him back with us here in Yorkshire as soon as possible. Please back out call and help us get Bryan back to where he belongs!

City of Sanctuary Wakefield and District
Voice for Voiceless Immigration Detainees Yorkshire