Kenyan man who died in Canada needed more mental support, says local community
Kiplagat, who was a resident of Elgeyo Marakwet County, had migrated to Canada in September 2023 in search of a better life for his family.
A Kenyan refugee who died at a shelter in North York, Toronto, Canada late last month should have received more mental health support, says the Kenyan community along with a group working to advance the rights, dignity, and well-being of African refugees in Canada.
Edwin Kiplagat, a 32-year-old husband and father of two, died on April 30 at the Willowdale Welcome Centre, a City of Toronto shelter specifically for refugees to Canada.
The facility opened in late 2019 and has 155 beds for women and 80 beds for men.
Kiplagat, who was a resident of Elgeyo Marakwet County, had migrated to Canada in September 2023 in search of a better life for his family.
Sadly, life here proved to be a significant challenge for Kiplagat, who had been unable to secure stable housing and work.
One of the ways Kiplagat coped was to abuse alcohol leading him down a deadly path of addiction, Rev. Eddie Jjumba, co-chair of the African Canadian Collective, told Canadian news outlet, CP24.
On Wednesday evening, a vigil was held at the shelter in his honour for clients and staff.
The wider community was invited to attend a memorial service for Kiplagat on Saturday, May, 17, 2025 in North York.
Calling Kiplagat's death "part of a troubling pattern affecting African refugee communities," Jjumba, said there’s a need to "see the individual beyond the bed."
Jjumba, who is also the senior pastor of Milliken Church in Markham, said once a refugee arrives at a shelter and gets their basic emergency needs met, there must be more done to ensure they have timely opportunities to become productive members of society, so their mental health doesn’t deteriorate.
"It seems like more could be done, especially when you see individuals behaving in a manner that is a few steps away from the grave," said Jjumba, who said he is aware of at least three residents of the Willowdale Welcome Centre who passed away from mental health-related causes since the onset of the African refugee crisis in the summer of 2023.
"More could be done to support these people, but it needs to be culturally appropriate, and we need to look more at root causes."
Jjumba said it isn’t a question of blaming one level of government or another, but instead, there’s a need for government and community partners to come together and think holistically to offer newcomer African refugees a "hand up."
"In Africa we say, where two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. I think we need a collaborative approach for people who are homeless; the trajectory can be so different," he said.
"As a community, we carry guilt. We wonder if we could be doing more to help our struggling brothers and sisters."
Rev. Sue Karanja is a well-known community leader and a mother figure to many in the local Kenyan community.
She told CP24 that it’s "really painful" that yet another refugee from her homeland has died from something so preventable.
"The Kenyan community has been facing lots of challenges. It’s pretty hard. It’s a crisis," said Karanja, who has been on the frontlines of this crisis since Day 1, helping scores of people here and supporting their families back home.
"I’m overwhelmed, honestly."
Karanja, who is also the founder of North York’s Royal Chapel Worldwide Ministries, said she’s aware of about four or five Kenyan refugees in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) who have died in the last three or so years from mental health and addiction issues.
