The long wait for exiled Kenyan lawyer Mguna Miguna to return to Kenya from Canada may soon be over. Dr Miguna, who was deported to Canada by the government on February 7, 2018, said that President William Ruto -led government had given him a new Kenyan passport.
On his Twitter account, Dr Miguna posted a photo of a new Kenyan passport saying his journey back to Kenya had begun and he was just waiting for the lifting of red alerts barring him from boarding planes to Kenya.
“1687 days after (former president) Uhuru Kenyatta, (former Prime Minister) Raila Odinga, (Interior Cabinet Secretary) Fred Matiang’i, (Interior Principal Secretary) Karanja Kibicho and (former Directorate of Immigration boss) George Kihalangwa conspired illegally seize and destroyed my Kenyan passport. President William Ruto has had a new one delivered to me. Waiting for the lifting of red alerts!” he posted at 8:10 pm.
He was charged with treason-related offences and his attempts to return to Kenya, despite several court orders issued to facilitate his return, bore no fruits.
Former Chief Justice David Maraga did not hide his distaste for the executive’s dismissal of the courts after orders issued were ignored. In later interviews, Dr Miguna revealed that he was beaten, tortured and drugged before being forcibly removed from Kenya.
Among the key arguments used by the State to exile him were that he had obtained dual citizenship, a Kenyan and later on a Canadian, at a time when Kenya did not support that type of citizenship. As such, the government argued that he forfeited his Kenyan citizenship when he took up the Canadian one even though he went to Canada to seek asylum from the oppressive Kanu regime led by the late President Daniel Moi.
The government also added that Dr Miguna never applied for Kenyan nationality once the Constitution changed in 2010 to allow dual nationality, claims that the lawyer rubbished saying nothing could nullify his birthright since he was Kenyan by birth.
Still, he was forced to stay in Canada since 2018. His attempts to come back to the country barely a month after his deportation were thwarted when he was informed by the airport in Amsterdam while connecting to his flight back to the country that the Kenyan government had issued red alerts barring his flight to Nairobi.
Last November, former President of the Law Society of Kenya, Nelson Havi said he, alongside former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, would travel to Germany, where they would meet Dt Miguna and bring him back home. However, this never happened.
Shortly after the court’s nullified presidential petitions filed before it seeking to nullify Dr Ruto’s presidency, Dr Miguna Miguna was quick to post that he had been assured by the new President that he would be issued with his passport and the red alerts would be lifted.
In a tweet, the fiery lawyer urged Dr Ruto to honour his promise a few days after the newly elected Head of State was sworn in at Kasarani Stadium, Nairobi on September 13.
Finally, his prayers have been answered as the process to bring him back to Kenya has kicked off.
