- Miguna will land at JKIA at 9.25pm on Tuesday and has urged Kenyans to turn up to welcome him.
- In 2018, Interior CS Fred Matiang’i insisted that he renounced his Kenyan citizenship when he took up the Canadian one.
Exiled National Revolutionary Movement (NRM) leader Miguna Miguna is free to return to Kenya, the state has declared.
Miguna was born in Kenya to Kenyan parents but has twice been deported by the state. In 2018, Interior CS Fred Matiang’i insisted that he renounced his Kenyan citizenship when he took up the Canadian one. Matiang’i ordered his deportation on grounds that his presence in the country was against the national interest.
But yesterday, Government Spokesman Cyrus Oguna said the state would not interfere with the fiery lawyer’s return to his motherland. The clearance now paves the way for his return following his disgraced deportation in February 2018.
Oguna said President Uhuru Kenyatta’s declaration that the firebrand lawyer would be allowed into the country suffices for his peaceful entry. “None other than the chief executive officer of the country has made a public pronouncement on the matter. That remains the government’s position and nothing has changed at all,” he told the Star.
On Monday last week, the President waded into the issue and hinted that the Toronto-based barrister would be allowed into the country if he returned this month.
“Nobody has been told not to speak his mind,” President Kenyatta stressed during the burial of multiparty democracy crusader Charles Rubia in Kandara, Murang’a.
“You can walk on the road and even shout at the top of your voice. I have heard that others even want to board flights and come to say what they want to say, let them come. That is their freedom.”
The government’s change of heart against one of its fiercest critics comes as Miguna announced he would land at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, at 9pm tomorrow. The lawyer was deported to Canada after spending five days in police custody for presiding over the swearing-in of ODM leader Raila Odinga as the people’s president on January 30, 2018.
Miguna has been using his social media pages to fire salvoes of accusations at the President and Raila. He says Uhuru should be dethroned and has also taken issue with Raila “for abandoning the quest for justice”.
He has asked Kenyans of goodwill to assemble at the JKIA to welcome him.
“Fellow Kenyans, you don’t need permission to organise and mobilise yourselves. You don’t need permission to come to the JKIA on Tuesday, January 7, 2020, at 9pm to welcome me. You don’t need permission to speak or express yourself. You have the right to speak, move and gather,” he tweeted.
It is unlikely the state would deploy security agents to block Miguna’s arrival given the turn of events.
The self-styled general’s last attempt in 2018 was dramatically unsuccessful, with security agents deployed in the airport to repatriate him. The state ignored a couple of court orders, which sought to grant the celebrated author a safe return. However, with the calm political climate, cemented by the handshake between Uhuru and Raila, Miguna’s threats have been neutralised significantly.
That notwithstanding, there are concerns his return poses a major test to strides made to safeguard democratic gains, especially after the disputed 2017 general election.
In preparation for his entry, Miguna has called on his legal team, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNHCR) and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) to compel the state to obey court orders on his citizenship and issue him his Kenyan passport. In an application filed on Friday at the Milimani Law Courts by lawyer John Khaminwa, the LSK and the KNHCR were named as interested parties in support of his travel back.
According to the application, Miguna wants to enter Kenya using his Kenyan identity card or passport. He also seeks an order directing the registrar of the High Court to release his passport to the KNHCR or his lawyers for his identification at the Immigration Department upon his arrival.
Miguna wants the court to summon the director of Immigration to show cause why they have denied him entry, despite several orders issued by Justice Chacha Mwita. He wants journalists from local and international outlets allowed access to the airport to cover his return.
Yesterday, Khaminwa, who is handling his case, confirmed the lawyer’s return. “Our client will land at JKIA at 9.25pm on January 7, 2020,” Khaminwa told the Star.