John Onoje

Who is John Onoje?

John Onoje is an activist from Chişinău, the Republic of Moldova. He is a notable activist and member of the National Liberal Party. Onoje is also a member of the Hyde Park public activism group presided by Oleg Brega In 2011, he signed up to run for President in Moldovan presidential election. Onoje's activity has been so well publicised that a party leader, Victor Şelin, proposed the withdrawal of his Moldovan citizenship on this basis. In a public speech, the PCRM's leader Vladimir Voronin called Onoje "a black, who'd just climbed down from a tree". According to Amnesty International, Onoje is a victim of racism.

Onoje is a naturalised Moldovan citizen with a Sierra-Leonean background; he came to Moldova from Sierra Leone in 1999, to escape the civil war in his home country. Just in 2001, the UN Refugee Agency granted him the statute of refugee. While fighting to become a fully-fledged Moldovan, Onoje learnt the language and became a well-known face at the Chişinău open market, where he sells newspapers. After living as a refugee for over a decade, he was granted Moldovan citizenship on 17 January 2011.