The boy, now 15, is being cared for by a foster family and likes his life in Canada, the judge found.

"I conclude that the child is settled in British Columbia and is vehemently opposed to being returned to Zimbabwe," B.C. Supreme Court Justice Linda Loo concluded.

The boy's father, a jeweler identified only by the initials P.T., went to court to seek to have his son returned to Harare, Zimbabwe, where a judge had awarded custody to the father.

But the mother, identified as R.M., fled the country and came to Canada on Oct. 19, 2001, first staying in Quebec and then months later moving to B.C.

At the time, the boy, known as T.C., was 5 years old.

When the mother came to Canada, she fraudulently changed the boy's name and birth certificate so he couldn't be found by the father.

The mother had a second child in early 2002 and tried to kill herself during childbirth.

Her two children were then taken into care by the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

The mother spent 30 days in psychiatric care but has since disappeared.

Ministry officials found the boy had been physically abused by his mother, who had beaten the child with a stick.

The son, now 15, was placed in a foster home where he still lives today.

A ministry worker tracked down the father in Zimbabwe and told him his son had been located, but the father has been unable to afford to visit his son.

The father is a goldsmith who makes about $400 a month,. allowing to live well in Zimbabwe.

The father and son have exchanged emails but have never talked over the phone.

The boy lives in the Vancouver area, receives "As" in school, is a high school basketball star and has a girlfriend. He hopes to be a chef one day.

He also maintains a close relationship with his half-sister S.M. who now is in grade 3 and lives about 10 minutes away. They enjoy a “brother-sister” relationship, noted the judge.

Despite the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, the judge decided that it would be in the child's best interest if he remained in Canada with his foster family.

"While I have some sympathy for P.T., the focus in this case is on the child and the enormous disruption that would be heaped on him if he were ordered to be returned to Zimbabwe," the judge ruled. "Accordingly, the petition is dismissed."

Shawna Specht, who acted for the ministry in the matter, said Friday she expects the boy to be very happy that he will stay in Canada.

"He doesn't have any memories of where he's from," she said.

By Special correspondent