The London Metropolitan Police Service has launched an investigation into recent allegations voiced by Sir Mo Farah, who recently revealed he was brought to the UK by a stranger under the name of another child and placed in domestic servitude.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the investigation will likely focus on the married couple that Farah accused of forcing him to cook, clean and babysit.
Farah revealed in the BBC documentary that his mother had sent him to live with family in Djibouti at the age of four after his father was killed by a stray bullet during the Somali civil war. The long-distance runner was later trafficked to the United Kingdom when he was 9 years old at the hands of an unidentified woman, who would eventually place him with a married couple.
The athlete further disclosed during the documentary that it was Alan Watkinson, his school's physical education teacher at the time, who helped him out of the situation. However, that didn't take place for a period of about three years, as he was not allowed to attend school until he was nearly 12 years old.
Farah also revealed that Mohamed Farah was not his birth name, rather it was a name taken from another child and used to establish a fake passport.
“Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it’s not my name or it’s not the reality,” Farah said in the documentary. “The real story is I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin. Despite what I’ve said in the past, my parents never lived in the UK.”
Farah, who previously stated he had come to the UK with his parents as refugees, explained that he chose to go public with his truth after being encouraged by his family. “Family means everything to me and, you know, as a parent, you always teach your kids to be honest, but I feel like I’ve always had that private thing where I could never be me and tell what’s really happened,” he said.
“I’ve been keeping it for so long, it’s been difficult because you don’t want to face it. Often my kids ask questions, ‘Dad, how come this?’ And you’ve always got an answer for everything, but you haven’t got an answer for that.”
The revelations initially surfaced on Tuesday for a preview of the documentary, which aired on Wednesday.
The winner of four Olympic and six world gold medals in the long-distance running category, Farah was knighted for his contributions to the sport in 2017 by Queen Elizabeth II. It was confirmed on Wednesday by the Home Office that no action will be taken against Farah over his citizenship.