Businessman Asif Amirali Jetha, who holds both United Kingdom and Canadian passports, has suffered a major setback after the High Court declined to overturn a decision declaring him a prohibited immigrant, paving the way for his deportation.
The Ministry of Interior had declared Jetha, who had previously been sentenced to 60 years in prison for trafficking Nepalese girls, to be a member of the prohibited class and, therefore, a prohibited immigrant.
The ministry further directed his arrest and detention pending his removal from Kenya to either Canada or the UK.
The declaration came shortly after the High Court overturned the 60-year prison term following Jetha’s successful appeal, which left him with only a fine of Sh100,000 for engaging in business without a work permit and unlawfully employing foreign nationals.
However, the High Court has now frustrated his attempt to remain in the country by dismissing his case seeking to set aside the declaration that placed him in the prohibited class category.
Justice Jairus Ngaah ruled that Jetha had filed his case out of time and had used the wrong procedure by lodging a judicial review application instead of an appeal against the Interior Ministry’s decision.
With that ruling, Jetha’s plea to remain in Kenya came to a dead end. He had filed the application in May 2023, arguing that he was a Kenyan citizen born abroad who officially returned to Kenya in 1995 and applied for naturalisation, a process he claimed was still pending.
He further argued that the Cabinet Secretary’s orders for his arrest and deportation amounted to condemnation without a hearing, contrary to the law, and should therefore be declared null and void.
“I have remained in police custody since my arrest. The conditions in remand prison are not conducive and have contributed to my ill health. I urge the court to stay the order of the Cabinet Secretary and to order my unconditional release,” Jetha pleaded.
However, Assistant Director of Immigration Services Ronnie Akedi opposed the application, challenging Jetha’s claim of Kenyan citizenship.
“Following the declaration by the Cabinet Secretary, Jetha is a prohibited and inadmissible person. It does not matter that he is married to a Kenyan or that he has invested in this country,” said Akedi.
Senior Superintendent of Police Paul Gathara also told the court that Jetha’s national identification waiting card had been invalidated.
“He is not in possession of a valid work permit, residence permit, or pass. Without a valid immigration status, he is in the country illegally,” said the officer.
A Shanzu Magistrate’s Court had previously sentenced Jetha to 60 years in prison for trafficking 12 Nepalese women.
He had been found guilty of six counts, including trafficking in persons for exploitation at his Rangeela Bar and Restaurant in Nyali, promoting human trafficking, interfering with travel documents, possession of proceeds of crime, engaging in business without a permit, and unlawfully employing foreign nationals.
However, in 2022, the High Court overturned the conviction and sentence after finding that the offences of human trafficking and promoting human trafficking had not been proven.
The court ruled that the Director of Public Prosecutions had failed to prove that the 12 Nepalese women were trafficked, noting that the evidence presented indicated they came to Kenya aware of the nature of the work they were to do.
According to the High Court, the evidence did not show that the women were deceived into travelling to Kenya or that they were subjected to exploitation.
The court found that the women were aware of the kind of work they would perform, which involved dancing at Rangeela Club from 9pm to 3 or 4 am, for which they were paid between Sh60,000 and Sh80,000 per month. In their testimony, the women confirmed that they were never subjected to sexual exploitation.
It was during his detention that he discovered his prohibited immigrant status when his lawyer, Chacha Mwita, sought an explanation for his arrest.
