Hiiraan Online
Friday, May 01, 2015
NAIROBI (HOL) ---- The Canadian Kenya ambassador David Angell visited a Canadian-Somali football coach who was seriously wounded in a hotel siege in the Somali capital last month at a hospital in Nairobi.
Mohamud Haji Ibrahim aka Khalifani was wounded in the recent Al-Shabab attack on Maka Almukarrama which killed at least 15 people on late March.
Mr. Khalifani, a dual Canadian and Somali citizen of Toronto had to jump down from his hotel room in the hotel's fourth floor after militants broke into his room that led him to broken bones with doctors reported eight broken clappers between his waistline and foot.
During his visit, Mr. Angell said he'd do his bests to assist him; however he cited legal obstacles by Canadian government that may decelerate a potential assistance the embassy could have given to its citizens.
Mr. Khalifani, well-known Somali coach, appreciated the ambassador for the visit, saying he survived by $20,000 fundraising money to pay his medical bills. He expressed shock at lack of support from the Canadian government, a move he said could have helped him to go back home earlier.
Despite being Canadian, when he contacted the embassy, tough conditions were set for their assistance including whether he had an Ontario medical card (OHIP), an action that he said depressed him at a difficult time.
The Canadian embassy's treatment towards the coach sent shockwaves across Somali-Canadians in Kenya, in a stark contrast to the privilege enjoyed their fellow US citizens in Kenya with the support of the US embassy in Kenya.
Mr. Mohamud Haji Ibrahim (Khalifani) is a popular coach for the giant Benadir FC, local football club in Mogadishu, winning local tournaments with his team several times. He is currently heads the football and arts department for Somalia's national police force.