“I have never, ever renounced my Kenyan citizenship and will never do that. I’ve never even contemplated it,” Miguna/FACEBOOK
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 7 – On transit to Canada, the self-styled ‘General’ of the National Resistance Movement, Miguna Miguna, on Wednesday responded to claims by the Interior Ministry that he had renounced his citizenship.
Miguna who was bundled out of the country on Tuesday night denied having given up his Kenyan citizenship on becoming a Canadian national, as alleged by the ministry.
“I have never, ever renounced my Kenyan citizenship and will never do that. I’ve never even contemplated it,” his statement to the press, circulated from Schipol Airport in Amsterdam, read.
He has therefore sworn to challenge, in court, what he views as his illegal removal from the country with the High Court in Nairobi already having heard submissions on the matter on Wednesday.
Miguna was effectively kicked-out of the country on Tuesday night just hours after the High Court in Nairobi ordered his release from police custody.
Miguna had been in police detention since Friday when his home was raided in an operation that involved anexplosive devices.
He was then shuffled between holding cells in different areas despite a court order directing that he be released on bail.
He was eventually arraigned before a Kajiado court when High Court judge Luka Kimaru summoned the Inspector General of Police and the Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti to explain why his orders for Miguna’s release had been defied.
“They have acted clearly in contempt of the orders of this court by detaining Miguna in breach of the orders issued by this court. This court was concerned that they appear not to appreciate the seriousness of their action in failing to comply with the orders of this court,” Kimaru adjudged on Tuesday.
On Wednesday however, Kimaru heard from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions who informed him that the National Police Service abdicated custody of Miguna to the Immigration Department which was responsible for putting him on a plane and sending him on his way.
“Miguna is headed home. The court ordered he gets released and @InteriorKE obeyed the orders and even assisted him with a flight ticket home. Please note he renewed his Canadian Passport on 16th June 2017,” the government tweeted a few minutes past midnight on Tuesday.
Going into more detail, the Interior Ministry’s Spokesman Mwenda Njoka in a statement to the press on Wednesday claimed that the Kenyan passport that had been in Miguna’s possession – after Kenya’s acceptance of dual citizenship – was illegally issued by the late Otieno Kajwang.
“The late minister’s orders that Miguna be issued with a Kenyan passport without following the proper legal procedure as prescribed by law was illegal and had no backing in law.”
The motive behind Miguna’s deportation has however been viewed as suspect given its timing.
Despite the Interior Ministry’s insistence that Miguna was illegally in the country, he not only made almost daily television appearances for months, he was cleared to run for public office by the authorities.
Following the flouting of Kimaru’s orders that Miguna be released into the court’s custody, Kimaru has directed Boinnet, Kinoti and now the Director of Immigration Services Gordon Kihalangwa, to swear affidavits explaining the circumstances under which Miguna was deported.
It remains to be seen whether they will comply with his fresh orders.
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