Miguna closer to returning home after Matiang’i order

Embattled lawyer Miguna Miguna could soon return to Kenya after the Interior ministry directed immigration officials at Kenyan embassies in Berlin, Germany, and Ottawa, Canada, to issue him with travel documents.

In a letter to Law Society of Kenya president Nelson Havi, Solicitor-General Kennedy Ogeto said his office had advised the ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs to obey court orders and allow Mr Miguna to return to Kenya.

This advice, Mr Ogeto said, was anchored in a November 22 court order issued by Justice Hedwig Ong’udi allowing Mr Miguna to return.

The judge directed that Mr Miguna obtain emergency travel documents from any Embassy or High Commission close to him within 72 hours.

Aware that Mr Miguna’s passport was never returned to him when he was forcibly deported to Canada in February 2018, Justice Ong’udi ordered that he be allowed to use his national identity card for the journey.

The High Court added that Mr Miguna should apply for a new passport as soon as he landed in Kenya. Officials had used the fact that he did not have a passport to block him from entering Kenya.

ID enough

Mr Miguna had always argued that an ID was enough to allow him to travel as it proved he was a Kenyan citizen and the State needed to facilitate his return.

The court also directed Air France and other airlines to allow Mr Miguna to fly back to Kenya aboard their planes. This was a big win for the lawyer, whose last two attempts to return were hampered by red alerts issued by the State to the airlines, effectively blocking the planes from carrying him.

But Mr Miguna’s struggles could now finally end if the Interior Ministry’s directives to Kenyan immigration officials in Germany and Canada are put into effect.

According to Mr Ogeto’s letter, the only thing that Mr Miguna needs to do in order to get his travel documents is to fill out the required forms.

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