I don't know how much press the following story got in the local media, but here's a quick summary: A Somali-Canadian, Suaad, left Toronto to visit her mom in Nairobi. On her
way back, just before boarding at JKIA, she was stopped by a Kenyan employee of KLM who doubted her identity. The Canadian High Commission in Nairobi (the one in a swanky building in Gigiri) was contacted and officials there told the Kenyan officials that Suaad was an impostor and that her passport didn't belong to her. So, with the help of the High Commission, Kenyan officials charged her with a variety of crimes and whisked her to remand in Lang'ata Women's prison. She spent 8 days there before she was released on bail.
She had 11 pieces of other ID on her (driver's license, medical insurance
card, etc etc) but the Canadian officials wouldn't listen. She pleaded with them to call her employer and her relatives in Toronto but they wouldn't budge. Finally after 3 months, as part of her case in the Kenyan system, a DNA test was conducted and matched with samples collected from her son in Toronto. She was determined to be who she claimed to be and is now back in Toronto.
The worst of Kenya - corrupt officials, airports, prisons, (in)justice system - has been on display for the past 2-3 weeks, loud and clear. http://www.thestar.com/Article/682824 (on prison conditions in Lang'ata) http://bit.ly/l01zc (for more stories) And, as expected, the Kenyan High Commision officials in Canada have been... well, who knows where they've been.