• KDA says the outcome of the case will affect thousands of Kenyans in the diaspora who have dual citizenship.
• Key question is whether persons born of Kenyan parents abroad should relinquish their foreign nationality to be allowed to serve in the Kenyan government.
Image: FILE
The Kenya Diaspora Alliance has sought to be enjoined in a case where Mwende Mwinzi wants to stop MPs from forcing her to renounce her US citizenship.
Through lawyer Charles Omanga, KDA said Mwinzi has been an active player in the welfare of Kenyans in the diaspora who hold dual citizenships.
“Unless the court allows the application, Mwinzi will suffer prejudice because we would have been denied the opportunity to legally challenge the flawed division which can affect its members appointed in various government positions,” Omanga said in the application filed on Thursday.
The lawyer said KDA will demonstrate to the court that there was a gross violation of the Constitution by the parliamentary committee in purporting to reject Mwinzi’s nomination on grounds of her dual citizenship.
They will also show that the decision has far-reaching consequences to Kenyans in the diaspora holding dual citizenship.
The alliance has argued that it has a direct and legitimate interest in protecting the rights of thousands of Kenyans living in the diaspora whose rights could be affected by the lawmakers' decision.
On September 17, Mwinzi challenged the recommendation of a parliamentary committee to the President to replace her as the designed ambassador of Kenya to Korea.
The Foreign Affairs CS and the Attorney General are the key respondents in the suit.
Led by its chair Shem Odongo, KDA wants the court to certify the matter as urgent saying people do not choose where to be born.
He said the case could determine how Kenyans in the diaspora may get involved in government jobs in the future.
Mwinzi, who the National Assembly approved for the job on the condition that she gave up her US citizenship, says it would be a violation of her rights to be forced out of something she did not choose.
The key question in the case is whether persons born of Kenyan parents abroad should relinquish their foreign nationality to be allowed to serve in the Kenyan government.
In a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon in Washington DC, USA, the group said the way legislators have treated Mwinzi is a reflection of the contempt lawmakers have for Kenyans living abroad.
KDA spearheaded the fight for the inclusion of the dual citizenship clause in the Kenyan Constitution in 2010.
High Court judge Weldon Korir directed KDA to serve the respondents with the application which will be heard on October 7.
Edited by R.Wamochie