Canada: South sudanese man charged in homicide had been found to be danger to public, but judge stayed deportation

The man charged in connection with Ottawa’s latest homicide was to be deported to South Sudan in December because he was a danger to the public, but a judge ruled that doing so would have put him at risk of death or inhumane treatment.

Ottawa police homicide detectives charged Yohanna David Chol on the weekend with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Vuyo Kashe, 36. Kashe was shot to death late Friday on Clarence Street, a residential street off King Edward Avenue.

Chol, 36, was born in Sudan in 1986 and came to Canada in 2003 as a refugee, according to federal court records. But his time in Canada was marked by violence and criminality. Records at the Ottawa courthouse show that he was convicted of an array of offences, including assault, drug trafficking and obstructing a peace officer.

Chol also suffered from poor mental health, the court records show. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, anxiety and depression, and prescribed 11 medications.

The criminal convictions lost Chol his status as a permanent resident, rendered him inadmissible to Canada and led the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration to find that he was a danger to the Canadian public. The ministry ordered his removal to South Sudan.

But Chol fought the decision. He argued in 2017 that his removal should be reconsidered because mental health care was inaccessible in South Sudan and he would be at risk of irreparable harm if he was forced to return. For years, the case languished and Chol’s mental health condition deteriorated. He was in and out of detention and attempted suicide twice.

Then, in November 2021, Chol was notified that he was scheduled to be removed from Canada and sent to South Sudan on Dec. 13, 2021.

His request to reconsider the decision was denied, so he took his case to federal court, where, just two days before his scheduled removal, Justice Sébastien Grammond granted him a stay — he was allowed to remain in Canada and have his case analyzed.

Grammond was swayed by the arguments put forward by Chol’s lawyer, Ayesha Kumararatne. The removal officer who had looked at Chol’s case failed to consider new evidence concerning his mental health, Grammond wrote in a decision dated Dec. 11.

Among the evidence were two reports from the International Medical Corps and Amnesty International that detailed the abysmal state of mental health care in South Sudan. They stated that there were recently only three psychiatrists serving the entire country of more than 10 million people and that individuals with mental health conditions often ended up arbitrarily detained there.

Between January and May 2016, four inmates with mental disorders died in Juba Central Prison due to insufficient food and treatable illnesses such as malaria and diarrhea, the Amnesty International report said.

“In light of the evidence reviewed above,” Grammond wrote, “I have no difficulty finding that Mr. Chol’s removal to South Sudan would expose him to irreparable harm.”

Grammond acknowledged that there was a “public interest in the timely removal of foreign nationals who have lost their right to remain in Canada.” But he added “that interest must be balanced by the need to ensure that foreign nationals not be removed to countries where they are at risk of inhumane treatment or death.

“The public interest is not served by short-circuiting the safeguards aimed at ensuring everyone’s right to life, liberty and security of the person,” Grammond wrote. “The removal officer unreasonably failed to take into consideration evidence of a risk of death or inhumane treatment.”

Chol’s motion for a stay of removal was granted and he was not removed to South Sudan.

The murder charge against Chol has not yet been tested in court. His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 4. He remains in custody.

Kumararatne, Chol’s immigration lawyer, declined to comment on his case Monday.