Kenyans in the diaspora have opposed proposals by the government that could lead to holders of dual citizenship being locked out of diplomatic appointments.
In a statement on Sunday, they said they would be adversely affected by the changes contained in the Foreign Service Bill, 2021. The bill is currently before Parliament.
The statement was signed by Henry Ongeri, Mkawasi Mcharo, Prof David Monda, Kennedy Chesoli, Washington Osiro, David Ochwangi, Prof Wanjala Nasong’o, Ann Kariuki and Dr Saisi Marasa.
They said the proposals were a culmination of efforts by elements within the government to marginalise and obliterate their rights.
They said there is no justification to bar holders of dual citizenship from being appointed high commissioners, ambassadors, diplomatic and consular representatives.
“There cannot be (and the drafters of the Bill do not bother to advance any), a rational basis or justification for the obviously discriminatory intent and impact of Section 23(3)(a),” they said.
“Perhaps it is an attempt at codification of some personal animus and vendetta harboured by some members of the ruling elite, and now being unleashed at public expense,” they added.
Kenyans in diaspora said there are several diplomats and world leaders who hold dual citizenship.
“In this day and age, it is incredulous to condense the human universe into a small crucible of narrow and myopic nationalism. We reject such machinations,” they said.
They said the bill, if passed, "would engender disastrous consequences in the loss of human resources and expertise".
They said Section 25 (3)of the bill violates the Constitution and amounts to an attempt by the government to strip away the rights of Kenyans.
“There is no constitutional or legal requirement that Kenyan ambassadors should not have dual nationality,” they said.
“The Constitution, as the supreme law of the land, does not designate ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps as 'state officers'. Article 260 is crystal clear on whom a state officer is and ambassadors are not listed.”
The concern is that having dual citizenship holders as envoys exposes the state as it is difficult to know where one’s allegiance lies.
The bill states that a person nominated by the President to such posts will not be a citizen of another country during the period of their appointment.
The bill is seen as part of an attempt to cure the controversy that greeted the appointment of Mwende Mwinzi as ambassador to South Korea.
During the protracted stand-off between Parliament and the Executive, MPs argued that Mwinzi was not suitable for the job if she maintained her dual citizenship.
But Mwinzi went to court to stop MPs from forcing her to renounce her US citizenship before getting the job. Mwinzi filed the suit at the Constitutional and Human Rights Division of the High Court.
MPs had approved her for the job on the condition she gives up her US citizenship.
Mwinzi argued that the condition by MPs would violate her constitutional rights.
In a ruling dated November 14, 2019, Justice James Makau said, “No one chooses his/her place of birth or parents”.
The court ruled that Mwinzi did not have to renounce her American citizenship to take up the job.
Makau further noted that an ambassador is not a state officer, but a public officer and hence is not required by law to renounce one citizenship.
MPs had cited Section 31(1) of the Leadership and Integrity Act, which bars persons with dual citizenship from holding state offices unless they renounce one.
