Dean Ablakwa, 34, was sent by the Home Office to Accra, the capital of Ghana, in June 2017.
A former NHS nurse has been left stateless and unable to work after being deported by the Home Office – despite being born in the UK and paying taxes for over a decade.
Dean Ablakwa, 34, was sent to Accra, the capital of Ghana, in June 2017. He has no criminal record.
Mr Ablakwa has no connections to the city, and without the means to earn a living because of his immigration status, relies on handouts from family members to survive.
He described his current situation as “mind-torturing” and said he has had trouble sleeping. “Every time I dream I feel like I’m in prison,” he said. “Even when I’m here I feel like I’m not free. I don’t feel like I’m meant to be here.”
“I feel my human rights have been stripped away,” he added. “I feel betrayed because I always thought I was British.”
Mr Ablakwa was born in east London. His parents, originally from Ghana, were killed in a road accident on holiday in the African country when he was just five years old. He trained to become an NHS socio-therapist, and in 2012 got a job working in Homerton, London.
However, almost a year into the job he was accused of helping a convicted murderer escape from a secure unit at his work place. He was imprisoned for nine months on remand, but later found not guilty for the charges.
Upon his release, his flat had been repossessed. Facing homelessness, he moved to Milton Keynes to stay with his aunt. The Home Office reportedly told Mr Ablakwa there had been a mistake and he needed to apply for naturalisation. He spent £1000 – his last savings – applying only to be turned down on grounds that he was not eligible for work.
Despite being acquitted, he was unable to get his job back on the NHS for reasons he claims were not explained to him. “I felt suicidal at this point. It felt so hurtful. It was just too much,” he said.
He was later detained in Harmondsworth removal centre, from which he was flown out from a military base to Ghana. “I was no longer in touch with the distant relatives from my childhood,” he said on landing in Ghana. “I felt lost.”
Without correct Ghanaian identification either, he has been unable to work or get a bank account.
He also finds himself without the money to pay for legal representation.
The Home Office responded with the following background information about Mr Ablakwa: “Mr Ablakwa was removed from the UK in June 2017 because he had no leave to remain. His removal did not relate to the criminal charge against him of which he was acquitted. “No evidence has been provided suggesting that Mr Ablakwa’s parents were resident in the UK before 1973.
