The controversial deportation of lawyer and politician Miguna Miguna early in 2018 would make for an ominous scene in the series “How to Become a Tyrant” on Netflix.
The son of Magina village in Nyando constituency, Kisumu County, has become a point of reference in an instance where a state would not only disown its citizen — as the courts have repeatedly declared— but also deport him.
The stoic activist was paying the price for the mock swearing-in of Opposition leader Raila Odinga as “the people’s president” following the disputed 2017 presidential elections. His second citizenship in Canada, which he acquired in his youth, while in yet another political exile for opposing the Moi regime as a student leader at the University of Nairobi, suddenly became an ammunition against him.
Evidently, Miguna’s revolutionary mind had rubbed the powers that be the wrong way and despite several court cases in his favour since 2018, he has not been allowed back into Kenya. Which begs the question, will his imminent return from Canada on Tuesday become a reality this time round?
#WelcomeLeGeneral, #Comebabycome, #whileyouwereaway, #Viva!... just to pre-empt the probable social media hash tags that would welcome him if the bid championed by activists and lawyers led by former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga to escort him home on November 16 is successful.
Tall, paunchy and brash, Miguna cuts the figure of a man made for trouble. And his days have certainly been full of trouble, thanks to his online and offline straight-shooting and taking on anyone that seems to stand on his way.
Towering above the commons and, for anything, never letting down his characteristic kofia that hides his balding head, Miguna does not suffer fools gladly.
His famous public altercations are dramatic and everyone from scholars, politicians and interviewers to fellow panelists on live shows have suffered his wrath. And there is nobody too high or powerful. This could be his Achilles heels as some critics say, that he can’t tame his tongue or ego hence the troubled life.
President Kenyatta and his ally-turned-foe, Mr Odinga, continue to suffer his unrestrained patter. With his deportation, he renewed his online activism zeal to “deconstruct” the powers that be, accusing the President of despotic tendencies, and taking issue with Raila’s decision to shake hands with the president in a surprise political truce.
His favourite battlegrounds are Facebook and Twitter where he capitalises on his 1.1 million followers using his signature hashtag #despotsmustfall and favourite slogans "Viva!" and "Aluta continua" (the struggle continues). Other handy ammunition include “zombie” and “Raila cows” in reference to the ODM leader’s followers..
The Toronto-based barrister has a limited sense of humour (and he will certainly not find this caricature in the Sunday Nation funny), just brazen facts that portray him as a taciturn figure. He is no doubt hard to please.
And he never runs out of ammunitions in any war of words. His sheer force of character and his mastery of the English turns a simple discussion into a titanic battle of wits, and he scarcely meets his match. Hit by Miguna tirades, the target rarely gets a comeback (not that people like Prof Makau Mutua would agree with this assessment).
Ultimately, Miguna must be judged, not by his impressive knowledge and command of the law, but how he used all that to audaciously defend what he believes in. He has in him that which makes men do either good or evil on a massive scale and we have probably not seen the last of him just yet.
