A Kenyan woman living in London has made a heartbreaking plea for help to bring her sickly and mentally ill father back home from the United States after more than four decades apart.
Edith, who shared her emotional appeal on Facebook, revealed that her father, Mr. Mutanda, has lived in Michigan, USA, for 43 years. Once full of promise after leaving Kenya at 21 to pursue studies abroad, his life has spiraled into loneliness, mental illness, and homelessness.
“My father became frustrated in the USA and became mentally unstable. He is diabetic and has no phone, no passport, and only a state ID,” Edith shared. “On September 4, I received a devastating call that my brother Michael had set his house on fire and that the same night my father was evicted. He is now homeless.”
Edith’s emotional burden is compounded by years of separation. Her father left Kenya before she was born, pressured by his family to pursue education abroad after impregnating her mother. “It wasn’t easy growing up without him,” she confessed. “For the last 23 years I have tried everything to reach him, even winning a U.S. green card in 2019, but COVID-19 shut down the embassy, and I lost the chance to connect with him.”
Kenyan father, Mr. Mutanda, stranded in Michigan State, U.S.
Her father’s two American-born sons, Tigina (38) and Michael (36), have also struggled with mental illness, leaving them unable to care for him. “When I spoke to my brother, he cried, telling me this time it was too heavy for him. My father told me he wished to return to Kenya but has no passport,” Edith explained.
Community members and diaspora leaders have urged Edith to seek help through the Kenyan Embassy in Washington, D.C., and to obtain a birth certificate to renew her father’s Kenyan passport. Others suggested Adult Protective Services in Michigan could provide temporary shelter and medical care.
Yet Edith remains determined: “All I want is to bring him home to Kenya where I can care for him. He left me before I was born, but I will not abandon him now. He is my father.”
Her story has sparked widespread sympathy online, with many hailing her resilience and compassion. “This is a great child! Yaani someone abandoned you in the womb, and now you want to help him? God bless you,” one supporter commented.
As winter approaches in Michigan, Edith hopes her plea will reach compassionate well-wishers and Kenyan authorities who can help her father secure travel documents and finally return home.
“This is not about money,” she stressed. “It is about giving my father dignity and love in his final years – back on Kenyan soil.”
https://www.facebook.com/naomi.ogutu2/videos/24528859610066865/
