Court allows deported Ghanaian to return to Kenya, awards him Sh2 million

The High Court has quashed the declaration of a Ghanaian businessman as a prohibited immigrant and ordered his immediate removal from the blacklist. 

Erick Agbeko, a real estate investor who has resided in Kenya for over 22 years, was bundled out of the country in March 2026. 

Agbeko holds a permanent residence permit, is married to a Kenyan woman and has three children, two of them Kenyan citizens. 

He was arrested on March 5, detained at Muthaiga police station and deported the following day after the Cabinet Secretary for Interior declared him a prohibited immigrant based on an intelligence report alleging land fraud. 

In his petition, he denied being involved in land fraud, held he had no criminal record and had never been charged in any Kenyan court over such allegations. 

"He states that he has been severely harassed and intimidated by impostors and faceless characters who have claimed to be agents enforcing various orders which have turned out to be forgeries," the court heard.

"The petitioner posits that the alleged deportation by the order signed on March 5, 2026 was another attempt to ship him out of the country illegally. He claimed not to have been furnished with any documents to explain the nature and reasons for the deportation, nor was he granted an opportunity to be heard, to review, or to appeal against the decision."

Agbeko argued that the declaration and deportation violated his constitutional rights to fair administrative action. 

The respondents, led by the Immigration Officer in Charge at Kenyatta International Airport, the Director of Immigration, and the Cabinet Secretary, opposed the petition. 

They argued that the declaration was based on a “top secret” intelligence report revealing that Agbeko was involved in land fraud activities

“The respondents state that the petitioner was arrested because there was reason to believe that he was undertaking activities contrary to national interest,” court documents show. 

“The respondents posit that land fraud by a foreigner presents a matter of grave national interest and is a matter of national security.”

They maintained that the petitioner had been duly issued with a prohibited immigrants notice and that he had bypassed the alternative dispute resolution mechanism.

The respondents further questioned the petitioner’s credibility, noting that he had sworn an affidavit in Nairobi on March 31, after his deportation on March 6.

“They argue that a prohibited immigrant cannot re-enter the country without an appeal and removal from the list of prohibited immigrants. Therefore, he either gained re-entry through illegal means or is misleading the court about the facts of this matter, thereby lending credence to the state's apprehension that he is a threat to national security.”

However, Justice Patricia Nyaundi dismissed the state's arguments.

The court found that the CS had breached the constitutional principles of fair administrative action by failing to notify the businessman or grant him an audience. 

“His deportation has had the effect of separating him from his family and children,” the judge noted.

“He was stripped of his permanent residency in a process that blatantly contravened the the constitution and violated his constitutionally guaranteed rights including non-derogable rights under Articles 25, the right to dignity under Article 28, the right to freedom and security of the person under Article 29, the right to freedom of movement and residence under Article 39, the right to property under Article 40, the right to fair administrative action under Article 47, and the right to a fair hearing under Article 50.”

The court awarded Agbeko Sh2 million in damages for the violation of his rights and prohibited the state from blocking his return.