- Yvonne Karusseit and husband Clive left Zimbabwe when Terry Ford killed
- Mr Ford was murdered in 2002 when he refused to leave his farm in Africa
- Yvonne and Terry had British parents, schooling, and lived here 5 years
- Now had application to stay indefinitely refused by immigration bossesÂ
A woman who fled Zimbabwe after her brother was killed by Robert Mugabe’s brutal regime has been told she must leave the UK as she does not know enough about England and its language.
Yvonne Karusseit and her husband, Clive, abandoned their home in the troubled African country after growing increasingly fearful for their lives following the murder of Terry Ford.
Their father was British, their schooling was British and their relatives fought for Britain in the Boer War and Second World War, and they have now lived in England for five years.
Refused: Yvonne Karusseit and her husband, Clive, abandoned their home in the troubled African country after growing increasingly fearful for their lives following the murder of Terry Ford
Murdered: Yvonne’s brother Terry Ford was a white farmer who had tended his land all his life, but after Mugabe’s sister decided she wanted it. When he refused to hand over his home and livelihood, he was beaten and hacked before being shot in the head
Tragedy:Â The death of Terry in March 2002 made headlines across the world. A photograph showing his lifeless body with his loyal dog, Squeak, curled up against his body was flashed around the globe
Immigration bosses say they have taken the decision because the pair haven’t given proof they are proficient in English and don’t have sufficient knowledge of life in Britain.
Now they face the prospect of leaving their home and Yvonne’s elderly mother to face an uncertain future in Zimbabwe.
Yvonne’s brother Terry Ford was a white farmer who had tended his land all his life, but after Mugabe’s sister decided she wanted it.
When he refused to hand over his home and livelihood, he was beaten and hacked before being shot in the head.
The death of Terry in March 2002 made headlines across the world. A photograph showing his lifeless body with his loyal dog, Squeak, curled up against his body was flashed around the globe.
The Karusseits fled to the UK with Yvonne’s elderly mother Eileen Ford, believing they could face a similar fate.
Uncertainty: Yvonne (left) is a carer for her elderly mother Eileen (right) but he couple now face the prospect of leaving their home to face an uncertain future in Zimbabwe
Under threat:Â The couple from Melbourne, Derbyshire, do not know when they will be deported to Zimbabwe, where they have a genuine fear for their lives
Former bank fraud investigator Yvonne, 59, said: ‘Terry stayed in Zimbabwe believing that Mugabe would never take the farms.
‘My parents had been living with us in South Africa for many years as their pensions and Medical Aid had been stopped.
‘My father, who is British, suffered a number of strokes after Terry’s murder. We were finally able to get him back to the UK in November 2010. I have an ancestral visa, my husband has a spousal visa.
‘My elderly mother, who I have been caring for many years, has been granted indefinite leave to remain.
‘But yesterday my husband and I were informed that our applications for indefinite leave to remain in the UK had been declined as we had erroneously omitted taking an English test.
‘We cannot appeal this decision. My elderly mother has dementia and other debilitating medical problems. With her dementia, she relies on me to do most things for her. There will be no family to take care of her if we are deported.
‘The fact that we grew up in Rhodesia and were brought up in the British way under British rule for many years means nothing.
Help: Clive has also been told he is no longer allowed to work and they are not entitled to benefits so a friend has set up a fundraising page and a petition is calling for the decision to be overturned
‘Now our only hope is to appeal to Theresa May to assist us in this matter. We have supported ourselves since arriving in the UK.’
The couple from Melbourne, Derbyshire, do not know when they will be deported to Zimbabwe, where they have a genuine fear for their lives.
And Clive, who is the sole breadwinner, has been told he is not allowed to work and they are not entitled to claim anything.
Their friend Anita Reilander has set up a fundraising page to help them make ends meet and a petition has been started to call for the decision to be overturned.
She said ‘They have no idea how they are going to manage and survive.
‘We are just lost for words and just cannot believe that people who have a right to live in the UK are being treated like this, absolutely appalling and disgusting.
‘They have a mortgage to pay as well as their household bills.’-Mailonline
