Kenneth Macharia still fears being deported to Kenya, where he could face persecution for being gay

A gay rugby player who is facing deportation to Kenya, where he says he will be persecuted because of his sexuality, has been granted bail allowing him to leave the immigration centre where he was being held.

Kenneth Macharia, who plays for Bristol Bisons, a gay and inclusive rugby club, told of his relief at being allowed out of the immigration centre where he had been held for almost two weeks, which he likened to a prison..

The 38-year-old, who has lived in the UK for nearly a decade, was granted bail on Wednesday at Hatton Cross tribunal hearing centre in Middlesex. He still faces the prospect of deportation.

Nearly 100,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Home Office to halt his removal.

The judge Edward Woodcraft told Macharia: “The fact I have released you on bail is not an indication that you will for ever more be allowed to stay in the United Kingdom.”

Macharia, a mechanical design engineer by profession, appeared at the tribunal via video link from Harmondsworth immigration removal centre near Heathrow, where he had been held since 15 November. He wore a black and pink Bristol Bisons RFC T-shirt and was supported by teammates whowere also wearing the same shirts.

Macharia was bailed with a series of conditions, including that he lives and sleeps at an address in Glastonbury, that he provides financial sureties and that he reports to an immigration officer. The Home Office has been told to consider how Macharia’s raised profile in Kenya affects matters while his fate is determined.

Speaking after the hearing as he waited for his teammates to drive him home, Macharia told the Guardian: “I am extremely happy and grateful for everyone who has supported me.”

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He said the ordeal had caused him to suffer from depression. “I have never been to a prison but to me, this is a prison because I did not have my freedom and get to go where I want,” he said.

“There is an extra anxiety during the first few days before they cancelled my removal. I was extremely anxious all the time and fearful they would dump me on to a plane at any moment.

“I had felt relief because they cancelled my removal, but last night I could hardly sleep when I released they were still intent on removing me.”

Asked how he felt about the prospect of going back to Kenya still hanging over him, he said: “It is something that really forces anxiety and fear. Due to the support I’m feeling a bit more hopeful for the future, but due to the way the Home Office is behaving they are not really showing me signs they will allow me to stay.”

Macharia has been in the UK since 2009, arriving on a student visa. He has twice been granted extensions of his leave to remain, as a student and then as a highly skilled migrant.

He claimed asylum in May 2016, arguing that he would be persecuted in Kenya because he is gay. Homosexual activity is illegal in the African country. The Home Office accepts that this is the case, but argues that this falls short of persecution.

Macharia trains with Bristol Bisons and is also the match-day photographer. After the hearing, his teammate and friend of three years Murray Jones said: “We’re past the first hurdle … it buys us time so we can get more support and more funds to make sure that he can be granted permanence in this country.”

Leaving the hearing room, Macharia’s mother, Jacinta, smiled and said: “I’m so happy.”

The Home Office would not comment specifically on the case, but a spokesman said: “We are committed to delivering an asylum process that is sensitive to all forms of persecution, including those based on sexual identity or orientation. We have a robust assurance mechanism, which involves considering all available evidence in light of published country-specific information.”