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Glasgow music scene rallies to save sound engineer Robert Makutsa from deportation
By Andy Malt | Published on Wednesday 31 August 2016
A petition has been launched calling on Nicola Sturgeon to halt procedures to deport sound engineer Robert Makutsa to Kenya. Makutsa has lived and worked in Glasgow for seven years, including at the now closed Arches venue.
According to friends, the Home Office initiated the deportation process because Makutsa’s job was not one that met requirements for overseas workers, meaning his current employer was not granted the necessary ‘Certificate Of Sponsorship’ to keep him on. He was then, it is claimed, detained without warning.
Commenting on the situation, Brian Reynolds of Synergy Concerts and the Hug And Pint venue says: “While [Hug And Pint booker] Joe Rattray and I were frantically looking for an audio engineer when Dougie Laing was sick last week, I tried to call Robert twice. Little did I know he was detained by the authorities and placed in detention centres and prisons between Glasgow and London for ‘overstaying’ his visa despite never having been informed that his application had not been successful until he was incarcerated”.
“Robert is currently not allowed to work despite being obliged to pay rent and council tax on his Cessnock residence”, he adds. “This is an outrageous imposition on Scotland’s arts community by the immigration authorities and we must unite to ensure that Robert is permitted to stay in the country where he is contributes so much and where he is valued and loved”.
You can read more and sign the petition here.
