Zainab claimed that her mother passed away under suspicious circumstances while still under Keyamo’s care.
An American woman, Zainab, has leveled explosive allegations against Nigeria’s Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo, accusing him of forging documents to secretly transport her deceased mother’s remains from Nigeria to Uganda without her consent. The Yemeni-Congolese-Ugandan national claims Keyamo – with whom she had a romantic relationship – and his aides excluded her from burial decisions, fabricated court affidavits, and used fraudulent travel documents to move the body while allegedly keeping her “captive” in Abuja.
Zainab told SaharaReporters that after her mother’s suspicious December 2023 death under Keyamo’s care, his sister Ruth and Chief Security Officer (CSO) allegedly intimidated funeral home staff and produced a questionable court affidavit. “They barged in, loud and confrontational…insisted they were in charge,” Zainab recounted. She maintains the document bearing the signature “Rambo Heidi Kim” authorizing the CSO to claim the body was forged, as her mother’s U.S. passport and naturalization papers were deliberately hidden.
The distraught daughter alleges Keyamo’s team misled her Ugandan cousin about burial plans while keeping her uninformed. “To this day, I don’t know if the body sent to Uganda was hers,” Zainab stated, citing denied autopsy requests and lack of documentation. Keyamo dismissed the claims as blackmail, directing inquiries to his sister Ruth who presented a contested authorization letter. The minister had previously arranged the family’s luxury Uganda trip in November 2023 via private jet, bypassing standard immigration.
The scandal raises troubling questions about abuse of power, with Zainab accusing Keyamo of exploiting his position to manipulate international corpse repatriation processes. As the Aviation Minister faces calls for investigation, the case highlights vulnerabilities in Nigeria’s body transportation protocols and the potential for high-profile individuals to circumvent legal next-of-kin requirements in sensitive personal matters.
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