“When I stepped out of the plane this morning, I said to myself it’s good to be back after four months,” Keil told journalists.
The associate minister was deeply grateful for the support from Samoa during his time in the United States of America.
“I thank all the people of Samoa for the support and the prayers. The power of prayers really helped me and my family to get through this, he said.
On arrival, he was met by the deputy prime minister, Misa Telefoni and the head of state, Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi.
Keil said the U.S system “normally likes to drag things on” but he was very fortunate to have charges against him dropped and his U.S citizenship restored.
Earlier last year, Keil was charged with one count of falsely and willfully representing himself to be a U.S. citizen and one count of willfully and knowingly using and attempting to use a U.S. passport.
He was arrested in Missouri, where he was visiting relatives and a Samoan dance troupe.
Earlier in December, a United States federal court judge dismissed all criminal charges against Keil, based on a motion filed by the U.S Attorney’s Office in Springfield.
The motion did not specify the reasons for dropping the charges, except to say that in the interest of justice, asked the court to dismiss the case without prejudice.
Whether the associate minister will take action against the U.S government over his treatment is not known yet.
