A convicted Ghanaian pastor who was expelled from the UK for using fake documents should be free to return to the country.
A immigration judge was told that Rev. Samuel Frimpong was sentenced to four months in prison for using false documents.
The hearing told him that his two fathers had submitted deportation orders shortly after their convictions in 2008 and left the country in 2013. He has been living a “depressed life” in Ghana since.
His 11- and 15-year-olds were born after his initial conviction, and their mother now finds it difficult to explain where their father is and feel “socially isolated.”
Mr Frimpong was awarded the deportation appeal at the time, but he was then “in trouble” and was listed as a “submarine”.
In November 2022, an immigration officer told him that his deportation order would not be revoked.
The pastor appealed the decision, but the First Immigration Court rejected his case last February.
But after calling on the upper class of the immigration court, Judge Abid Mahmood decided to revoke the deportation order, ruling that it was an “unreasonable intervention” in his human rights.
Mr. Frimpong appealed under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, considering his right to family life and his wife and children to be “interferenced”.
At the hearing, Mr Fripen’s wife, who was not named by the court, said the family was deported after being deported.
She said: ‘The immediate effect of deportation includes[ed] Exited from the original home and had to move.
“Children are somewhat isolated in society without fathers and find it difficult to understand why fathers are not with them, and they find it difficult to explain to others in the school where their father is.
‘They “constantly begged my father to come to England and always pray for his safe return to get his attention, support and feelings”.
Mrs. Frimpong also said that she was unable to work full-time while caring for the children, so the whole family was unable to return to Ghana.
‘[She] explain [he] I feel very sorry and regretful for what he does every day. 11 years apart, it has had a huge impact on the family,” the court heard.
“She was unable to visit Ghana and had no children because despite living in a tough accommodation in the UK, there was little money available to do any international trip. ”
Government representatives opposed Mr Fripen’s false documents “basically undermined immigration control”.
The superior court judge Mahmood, who revoked the eviction order, admitted his dishonesty was “serious” but said the family was living a “frustrated life” and that the children’s move to Ghana would be “insurmountable”.
He said: “It is obvious to me that the lives of these kids must live in the UK, schools and friends in a house in Ghana are insurmountable obstacles.
Their church means a lot to them and they are an important part of it.
In this case, modern means of communication have been tried and failed, as the frustrated life of children and their mothers in England shows. In addition, life in view of depression [Mr Frimpong] In Ghana.
“Ultimately, in this case, the probation report clearly states that there is no risk of harm to others.
“The crime was committed in 2008. That was 16 years ago. Crimes that do not record crimes [Mr Frimpong] since then. [He] As a pastor.
“He apologized for his offense and behavior. He tries to modify it by practicing and assisting others’ religious beliefs.
“I came to the conclusion that despite the weight of public interest and deportation in the special circumstances of this situation, [the] Refusal to revoke the eviction order against [Mr Frimpong] Constituting unreasonable intervention in Article 8 rights [him]his partner and his two children.
Mr Frimpong can now apply for an entry permit to return to the UK.
