Interior CS Fred Matiang’i and Immigration PS Gordon Kihalangwa have been ordered to pay controversial lawyer Miguna Miguna Sh7.2 million for unlawfully deporting him to Canada and damaging his house in Runda.
In a judgement delivered Friday, Justice Chacha Mwita ruled that Miguna’s rights were violated and the two senior state officials are held personally liable for their actions. He said taxpayers will not pay for their individual misdeeds.
Miguna, who was deported twice early this year against his will, had moved to court asking for damages and the return of his passport. He argued that Matiang’i and Kihalangwa had violated his rights.
The judge also ruled that Miguna is a Kenyan citizen who has never lost his citizenship, even after obtaining his Canadian passport. He added that Miguna cannot lose a citizenship which he had obtained by birth.
“The purpose of awarding damages in this and any other case is to act as a deterrent to avoid repetition and also send a message to state officers that rights of citizens must be protected,” the judge said.
In his view, the manner in which Matiang’i and Kihalangwa conducted themselves was contrary to the law. He called them abuse of office.
“Though the state doesn’t like his abrasiveness, they are bound to adhere to the rule of law and protect his constitutional rights,” the court ruled.
Judge Mwita further declared that Matiang’i’s confiscation of Miguna’s passport violated, was unconstitutional and lacking any legal authority.
He ordered the state to reinstate Miguna’s passport since it had been irregularly seized from him.
The court further said there could not be a worse violation of the law and rights than in Miguna’s case, considering what he went through at the hands of the state.
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The judge said that even after Miguna got court orders that allowed him back to Kenya, he was not allowed to enter the country. He was held incommunicado inside a toilet where he was later injected with foreign substances and deported to Canada for the second time.
The judge said that as of today there is continued violation of Miguna’s rights because he is still in Canada where he was deported.
He also quashed a gazette notice dated January 30 declaring NRM, the National Resistance Movement, an outlawed movement.
Speaking after the judgment, Miguna’a lawyer Waikwa Wanyoike said this was a big win for the rule of law in Kenya.
“Through this judgment Judge Mwita has asserted and reaffirmed the potency of our Constitution. He has demonstrated that no one — contrary to Matiang’is and Boinnet’s thinking — is above the law. He has shown our Constitution has teeth and that overzealous government officials will bear costly personal liability. It is a great day for the constitution,” he said.
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