Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - November 2009
The officer in the case of Suaad Hagi Mohamud has testified that he did not order DNA testing on the woman in question because, to him it was clear that the passport photo did not match.
The Mohamud case has caused great controversy in recent times, as the Canadian citizen was detained in Kenya after consular officials erroneously determined that she was not who she claimed. However, this conclusion was based only upon a passport photo, despite the officials having resources available, such as DNA testing, which could have proven the truth.
The official in the case, Paul Jamieson, said that between the passport photo, the “vague” and “evasive” answers she gave, as well as the “inconsistencies” in Mohamud’s story, he was satisfied that detaining her was justified.
“At that point, I had no reason ... why would I go on to DNA? I had already satisfied myself," said transcripts of Jamieson’s testimony in Federal Court. “I had extremely good reason for coming to the conclusion that I did.”
Mohamud was visiting family in Kenya in the spring and was stopped on May 21, at which point she spent 8 days in jail before being released on bail. Despite her own demands, officials refused to neither fingerprint her nor test her DNA.
Mohamud returned finally to Canada in August after DNA testing proved her identity. Mohamud is now taking legal action against the system that failed her, suing the federal government for $2.6 million. Yet Jamieson’s testimony is unapologetic.
“I had numerous reasons to believe that she was not who she said she was,” Jamieson said. “I had no reason to take extraordinary measures, such as requesting DNA.”
Source: Montreal Gazette
