NAIROBI (Reuters) - A man who has lived for more than a year at Nairobi's international airport to protest being denied entry to Britain has finally been granted U.K. citizenship and plans to fly there within days.
In a real-life African version of Tom Hanks' 2004 Hollywood hit "The Terminal," Sanjai Shah, 43, has been eating cafeteria food, sleeping on plastic transit lounge chairs, and showering in arrival hall toilets(!) since May of last year.
His morning alarm is the dawn announcement advising the safe landing of the first flight. "It's like a second home here. All the staff know me, they're very friendly," Shah told Reuters. "But it hasn't been easy. The chairs are uncomfortable to sleep on. And the food is bad." [I'll bet he dropped about a million dollars on that food too! - Mike]
Shah obtained a British Overseas Citizen passport since he was born in Kenya when it was under colonial rule. But when he flew to England without a return ticket or sufficient funds, he was deported with "prohibited immigrant" stamped in his passport -- negating the document. By then he had renounced Kenyan citizenship because local law prohibits dual nationality, so found himself in limbo and decided to stay at the airport outside Nairobi.
Now, however, Shah's ordeal -- which British authorities say was largely self-inflicted -- looks to be over. The High Commission has decided in principle to grant him full UK citizenship, pending a "citizenship ceremony." With that scheduled for July 12, he could be on a plane out the next day.