• AG Kihara Kariuki, IG Hillary Mutyambai and Interior CS sued
Image: FILE
The Mombasa High Court will on Thursday hear a petition filed by seven Kenyans stranded in Ras Kamboni, Somalia after they were denied entry into the country.
The case was on Tuesday certified urgent and is expected to be heard by Justice Erick Ogola.
Patrick Mwangala, Martin Mwaghazi, Ignas Kialu, Micheal Mjala, Gabriel Kennedy, Elias Mwalili and Abas Mutuku through lawyer Margaret Kahiga had urged the court to declare the matter urgent as they were stranded in a foreign country without travel and identification documents.
They said their passports were confiscated by the authorities and they were barred from gaining entry into Kenya.
The petitioners who have sued the Attorney General Kihara Kariuki, Interior CS Fred Matiang'i and IG Hillary Mutyambai want the government to facilitate their unconditional entry back into the country.
The petitioners also want the state to facilitate the return of all their travel and identification documents which they say are being held by the authorities.
The petition was filed on May 29 by Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri). Muhuri said the seven had travelled to Kismayu, Somalia through JKIA on diverse dates in January after they were authorised by the Kenyan immigration office.
They said their time to work as welders in Kismayu lapsed on March 31 and they sought to return to Kenya.
The petitioners said they were vetted by Kenya and Somalia authorities at Ras Kamboni who then cleared them to return to the country.
They were however denied entrance at the Kenya-Somalia border by the Kenyan authorities who confiscated their travel and identification documents.
The authorities informed the petitioners that they will only be allowed back to the country if cleared by Lamu county commissioner Irungu Macharia.
Macharia however declined to permit them in despite the petitioners' willingness to be tested for Covid-19.
The petitioners said the government has contravened the freedom of movement and residence to all Kenya citizens as stipulated in Article 39 of the Constitution.
Edited by P.O