- I am a charitable aid worker supporting Zeto Kembuku , an asylum seeker from the DRC, to secure right to remain in the UK.

We are seeking funding for legal fees to progress a leave to remain application based on Zeto’s continuous residence in the UK for over 21 years. This route recognizes the strength of his connection to the UK after a prolonged stay.

Call to action - We are seeking to raise £2750 to cover the cost of legal fees to make the 20 year right to remain application on behalf of Zeto. The money raised will cover the cost of the legal fees to complete a Home Office application fee waiver and the right to remain application itself . We need your support: please contribute and share this page with family and friends and on your socials.

What are we trying to achieve? - Zeto fled the DRC in 2003 in the aftermath of the Third Congo Civil War which was the deadliest conflict since World war 2 with an estimated 5.4 million war related deaths. He arrived in the UK on 1st Oct 2003 and sought asylum on the 2nd Oct 2003. Despite not being able to work , claim benefits, or rent accommodation he has managed to remain in the UK for over 21 years. He has experienced many periods of homelessness including times when he has had to sleep in large bins at retail outlets to avoid hypothermia. I met Zeto around 6 years ago when Liverpool City Council referred him to the Christian charity I was working for. He had become the sole carer for his young daughter and the charity provided accommodation for them as part of our Safe Havens refugee support project. I became Zeto's key worker. Some months later Zeto's daughter was taken off him because the Council considered that as he was not legally allowed to work and his mental health was suffering he was financially unable to care for her. She was placed in foster care and subsequently put up for adoption despite Zeto fighting to keep her through the courts. He was heartbroken. When his daughter was taken from him he also lost the support from Liverpool City Council and was once again homelessness. The charity stepped in and provided housing up until Dec 2024 when they were unable to continue their support. Thanks to a wonderful benefactor who provided rent free accommodation we were able to avoid Zeto becoming destitute . He has been in his current home now for 7 months but this arrangement was only on a temporary basis and could come to an end at short notice at any time. Zeto currently works as an unpaid volunteer for another charity 3 days per week but is desperate to gain the right to remain so that he can secure paid employment and stop having to rely on the charity of others. He will still not be able to claim any state benefits but If we are able to secure the right to remain he will also be legally entitled to pay himself for rental accommodation for the first time in the 21 years he has lived in the UK. I should add that my time over the past 6 years supporting Zeto has been an absolute privilege. Despite the appalling difficulties he has faced throughout those years and despite the terrible toll it has taken on his mental health he somehow still manages to hold out Hope that it will all come good. I asked him once how he is still standing. He smiled and said that he knows that at those times when he is at his lowest , when everything seems lost and their is no hope left , he remembers that God is still by his side. I would not be able to cope in his circumstances for 21 days never mind 21 years. Please help us to raise the funds to end this 21 year nightmare. Please share this with your family and friends so we can make the application for right to remain which, if successful , will be life changing for Zeto .