Justice Dept. forgives Congo man's passport debt

NORFOLK

The Justice Department has agreed to forgive Billy Ekofo's $7,000 debt to the government and renew his passport.

Ekofo owed the money through a repatriation loan he was given by the State Department when he was forced to leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo during a 1998 coup. He was 17 at the time and could not read the papers he was given to sign.

Ekofo, who lives in Portsmouth with his wife and son, didn't know he still owed the money until he was denied a passport renewal because of the debt. Ekofo sued the government in federal court.

U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson signed an order dismissing the case with an agreement by the federal government that Ekofo's debt is eliminated and that he is eligible for a new passport.

"My personal reflection on this situation is that God had his hand on it from the beginning," Ekofo said this week.

He said he plans to return to Congo to film a documentary on the ongoing war and to visit his family. He has not seen his mother since he left.

Ekofo was born in Indianapolis in 1981 while his father attended a seminary. His parents are both Congo natives, and he was the only one of their four children born in the United States, making him an automatic citizen.

When the coup erupted in 1998, U.S. officials in Congo ordered all Americans out of the country. The officials gave him a passport and a $551 loan for travel expenses. With interest and fees, the loan swelled to more than $7,000.

Ekofo's father drove him to the airport and he was sent to live with a family friend in Richmond. He has since graduated from college and is studying film production at Regent University.

When he and his wife tried to take a cruise earlier this year, they discovered his passport had expired. When he tried to renew it, the State Department rejected his application because of the unpaid debt.

His wife, Karen Daily, a local attorney, went to see Norfolk attorney O.L. "Buzz" Gilbert, who had handled a similar situation with another immigrant client. Once they filed suit in September, the Justice Department sought to quickly settle the matter, Gilbert said.

"Sometimes in government they forget that the world is about people, and they've got to remember everyone's got a story," Gilbert said

"Our justice system takes such a beating that when it works the way it's supposed to it's nice. It was just the right thing to do by the Attorney General's Office."

Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343, tim.mcglone@pilotonline.com