Kenyans shocked as Odinga's ally Miguna is deported to Canada

Kenyans have expressed shock at the news that opposition lawyer and self proclaimed General of the resistance movement, Miguna Miguna has been deported to Canada.

The Official Government Newsroom on Twitter (Nexus KE) tweeted the development saying ‘‘Miguna is headed home. The court ordered he gets released and the interior ministry obeyed the orders and even assisted him with a flight ticket home.’‘

The account added that Miguna ‘‘renewed his Canadian passport on 16th June 2017’‘.

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. pic.twitter.com/86OmxI5dvC

— NEXUS (NEXUSKE) February 6, 2018

Along with the tweet, a video purportedly showing Miguna aboard a plane is circulating on social media.

Ladies and gentlemen . Indeed Miguna Miguna has been kicked out of his motherland . Never imagined I would be alive to see these happen in my own country . pic.twitter.com/ryPdmwKPmx

— Leon Lidigu (@LeonLidigu) February 6, 2018

Local media reported that Miguna’s lawyers say he was deported to Canada via a KLM flight.

“It is true. He was forced into a KLM flight minutes to 10pm and we gather he is headed to Canada. Such a travesty of justice,” Dr John Khaminwa, one of Miguna’s lawyers told the Daily Nation newspaper.

We are reliably informed that Miguna Miguna has been forced into a KLM flight for “deportation” to Canada. Now, how do you deport a Kenyan? This Country has been overrun by criminals.

— Nelson Havi (@NelsonHavi) February 6, 2018

Who is Miguna Miguna?

Miguna was born in Nyando, Kisumu County, on December 31, 1967.

Miguna’s life as a political activist put him on a collision course with the Daniel Arap Moi led government and he consequently fled the country in 1988. Miguna was granted political asylum in Canada.

Miguna later returned to Kenya and was a member of Odinga’s campaign team in the 2007 elections.

In 2009, Miguna was appointed as an advisor to the then prime minister of the coalition government, Raila Odinga.

He fell out with Odinga in 2011 and has since written two memoirs critical of the veteran opposition leader, whose oath he conducted to attract treason charges and the subsequent deportation.

Miguna endorsed Uhuru Kenyatta for president in the 2013 elections, in an act interpreted as defiance against his former political boss Odinga.

Legal questions

While Article 16 of the Kenyan constitution guarantees Miguna’s citizenship since he is a Kenyan by birth, the government explained in a statement that Miguna became a Canadian citizen and consequently renounced his Kenyan citizenship under the old constitution which didn’t provide for dual citizenship.

The statement went on to explain that Miguna fraudulently acquired a Kenyan passport in 2009 without seeking and reapplying for Kenyan citizen as prescribed by the new constitution.

Government of Kenya statement on deportation of Miguna Miguna. pic.twitter.com/jp22JA7XAf

— Oliver Mathenge (@OliverMathenge) February 7, 2018

Miguna who told journalists that the Kenyan government is afraid of arresting Odinga, has vowed to challenge his deportation in court and insists that he is a bonafide citizen of Kenya.

In a statement issued from the Netherlands during a stopover, Miguna said he had instructed his lawyers to ensure that those behind his deportation paid for what he described as “impunity”.

“I will challenge all the illegal and unconditional actions by the despots in court starting today. I have instructed a battery of competent advocates to ensure that the ongoing rogue purveyors of impunity are brought to book. They are not above the law, even though they behave as if they are,” wrote Miguna.

Critics and legal analysts have also pointed out that Miguna’s citizenship was never questioned last year when he contested for and was cleared to run for the Nairobi governor’s seat.

To contest for that position, Miguna was cleared by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Higher Education Loans Board and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).