NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct, 20 – Embattled lawyer and staunch government critic Miguna Miguna is back in the country after nearly five years in exile.
The lawyer arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 6 am on Thursday.
He was issued a new passport following a directive by president William Ruto in September as he laid plans to return back home.
He was first deported in February,28,2018.
“I am very grateful for the warm welcome you have given me and I am extremely happy to be back home. I extend my gratitude to all Kenyans who have stood with me, with the bill of rights in the condition, the course of justice, dictates of democracy, principles of rule of law,” he said after landing at the JKIA.
Miguna who also thanked the Judiciary for upholding the law also thanked President Ruto’s administration for their role in ensuring his rights were upheld and his return to Kenya actualized.
“What has happened to me should never have happened to anyone else, a Kenyan born citizen can not be discarded, removed forcefully from the country, and banished to a foreign land,”
Miguna said that he would be making further pronouncements in the coming days
He has been out of the country for nearly five years after being deported to Canada during former president Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration.
Attempts to secure a return to Kenya proved futile with Miguna accusing the government of violating his fundamental rights.
Miguna revealed that he was invited to the Mashujaa day celebrations at Uhuru Gardens by president Ruto as well as the luncheon at State House Nairobi.
His woes started after he ‘swore in’ former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as the people’s president, following a disputed presidential election in 2018.
He said he was beaten and drugged before being forcibly removed from the country for a second time.
President Uhuru Kenyatta later reached a truce with Odinga in March, in a surprise move dubbed The Handshake.
Miguna’s attempt to return to the country in November 2021 failed due to red alerts placed by the former regime.
He has received several court orders allowing his entry to the country but were all defied by the government.
Officials had argued the lawyer – who holds dual Canadian nationality – is not a citizen.
High Court Judge George Odunga has now fined Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiangi, the head of police, and the head of immigration $2,000 (£1,400) each for contempt of court.
Judge Odunga said the three senior government officials had “failed to adhere to the rule of law” and ignored the orders of the court in their treatment of Miguna.
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