Swedish authorities may deport Lucy Murugi, a Kenyan woman, for reportedly failing a “gay test.”
According to Murugi, 28, she fled to Marsta, outside Sweden’s capital, with the help of a cousin who provided her with a visa and accommodation to escape the alleged verbal and physical harassment from her family and neighbors, reports Nairobi News.
Fourteen months after she arrived in Sweden, Murugi was reportedly shocked to learn that her application for asylum had been rejected by the Swedish Migration Board because she failed the board’s credibility assessment test, where she had to convince interviewers that she had genuine reasons for seeking asylum.
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Murugi, however, insists she failed the test due to nervousness as well as the language barrier since many of the interview questions were incomprehensible to her.
“I did not understand anything. No one told me what to expect, what I would do or say, or at least give me some guidelines,” Murugi says.
Now Murugi fears that her life may be in grave danger due to lynch mobs if Swedish authorities decide to deport her to Kenya. In addition, homosexuality is a crime in Kenya and punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
“I have nowhere to run,” Murugi says.
According to Murugi, to be suspected of falsifying her sexual orientation is humiliating.
“It feels horrible and disappointing. It breaks down one. You realize that you made a mistake somewhere and when you try to fix it so you will rarely get a second chance.”
