I don’t even know if the body that landed in Uganda was hers. Her body had already begun leaking, swelling, and darkening. There was no autopsy, no proof, no documentation given to me, no dignity
Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development of Nigeria, is being accused by Zainab, an American citizen of Yemeni and Congolese-Ugandan ancestry, of forging legal documents and creating false Ugandan records in order to covertly remove her mother’s remains from Nigeria without her knowledge or permission.
Keyamo and Zainab met on September 21, 2023, in New York, USA, during a UN function where Keyamo was the interpreter. As their romance developed swiftly, Keyamo travelled to see Zainab’s mother and made plans to move them to Nigeria.
Zainab, her mother, and others took Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET513 to Uganda on November 13, 2023, staying in Keyamo-funded luxury accommodations.
They bypassed immigration by flying to Abuja in a private plane on December 22, 2024. Zainab briefly visited New York before returning to Nigeria on April 9, 2024, leaving Keyamo to care for her mother.
When Zainab returned, she noticed her mother’s health had deteriorated. Household staff reported neglect and a lack of basic utilities. Zainab believed Keyamo had failed to visit or check on her, and her mother died under suspicious circumstances while under his care.
According to Zainab, she encountered threats and roadblocks when she started asking questions. She felt betrayed by someone she had trusted and regarded her treatment throughout this period as very demeaning.
During an interview with SaharaReporters, Zainab detailed how she was totally left out of the burial ceremony.Â
There was quiet and misinformation when she tried to get answers, she said. In order to organize the following actions, she created a WhatsApp group that comprised Keyamo, his sister Ruth, his chief security officer (CSO), and others.
On several occasions, she requested an autopsy, clarification on the funeral process, and time to talk with her cousin in Uganda about a burial site.
She also considered New York or Congo as resting sites for her mother, but her family prioritized proximity and convenience. Zainab refused Keyamo and his companions’ requests to bury the deceased in Abuja.
Zainab said Keyamo unexpectedly withdrew and gave funeral duties to his driver, Henry, a man she barely knew and had previously accused of inappropriate behavior.
She worried that someone she didn’t trust would bury her mother. After Keyamo’s sister Ruth and his CSO rushed the funeral home, she said they intimidated staff and took control of the body.
Zainab claimed that they pressured a colleague to reveal sensitive information and then approached her at the funeral home, rejecting her concerns and overruling her as next of kin.
A court affidavit saying she gave Keyamo’s CSO permission to remove the corpse appeared in the group chat, shocking her.
Zainab had never seen or signed such a document and didn’t know how it was obtained. To get the papers, the CSO allegedly pretended to be her mother’s friend.
Zainab claimed her mother’s U.S. passport and naturalization paperwork were withheld, adding to her distress. She said names and documents were falsified to coordinate the body’s transfer via Lagos and Abuja planes.
“Suddenly, a document was shared in the group, an affidavit from the High Court. To my shock, Oga’s CSO had gone behind my back, claimed to be my mother’s friend, and obtained it in my absence. I don’t know what lies were told or who authorised it, but at that moment, I realised they were operating fully behind my back.
“They were secretly planning to send my mother’s body to wherever. They’d contacted my cousin Doug and fed him false information, telling him I was en route to Uganda to find burial grounds. They also claimed I would return if that didn’t work, and try Congo, and if all else failed, we’d go to America.
“Meanwhile, I was being held captive, unaware of any of this.”
She said her cousin Doug thought he was helping with burial plans, unaware that Zainab was being jailed and kept in the dark. He discovered the deceit following Zainab’s daughter’s distress message.
Doug contacted Keyamo, his sister, the CSO, and others, including Ugandan Embassy officials in Abuja, to intervene. Zainab said they blocked him and propagated lies about her, including that she was deported or trafficked children.
The corpse was transferred from the morgue without her authorization, and she still doesn’t know if the body sent to Uganda is her mother’s owing to a lack of documentation and a reluctance to autopsy.
Zainab said, “To this day, I don’t even know if the body that landed in Uganda was hers. Her body had already begun leaking, swelling, and darkening. There was no autopsy, no proof, no documentation given to me, no dignity.”
Festus Keyamo called Zainab’s accusations an effort at blackmail and rejected them. He told SaharaReporters to talk to his sister, Ruth Keyamo, since she knew more about the situation.
When SaharaReporters reached out to Ruth Keyamo, she categorically refuted all of the accusations. She asserted that Zainab gave her consent for the body to be removed and produced what she claimed was a letter signed by Zainab and dated June 6, 2024, supposedly authorizing the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to do so.
SaharaReporters