Kenyan immigration authorities block opposition activist’s entry

The fiery politician who has become a sharp critic of the current President Uhuru Kenya was forced back into a Dubai airline Monday evening by immigration officials but managed to shield off the officers. File Photo: Nation Media Group

By Fauxile Kibet

There was drama at Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after immigration officials denied Opposition activist Miguna Miguna entry into the country.

Mr Miguna was deported from Kenya last month after he took part in the illegal swearing in of opposition leader Raila Odinga late January.

But the country’s high court in Nairobi ruled Mr Miguna’s deportation and the confiscation of his passport illegal, ordering that he be returned into the country.

But months after the ruling, the fiery critic of Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta’s government returned to a dramatic reception at the country’s major airport – sparking protests on social media.

According to Kenya’s Immigration officials, Mr Miguna is reguired to re-apply for the Kenyan citizenship that he lost in 1998 when he acquired the Canadian passport – as the country did not allow dual citizenship by then.

“To enable Miguna regularise his citizenship status, the department has this morning dispatched the requisite application forms to the JKIA for him to fill them for processing,” the department said on Tuesday.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who recently appeared to have mended bridges with President Kenyatta attempted to intervene to end the standoff but his efforts bore no fruits as he was also blocked by security officers.

But immigration officials at the airport said that the opposition activist refused to cooperate with them as per the court order, by failing to present his travel documents he used to exit Canada and instead demanded to be let into the country using his national ID.

“The ID, however, is only acceptable as a travel document to and from the northern corridors of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Southern Sudan. Miguna’s travel had not originated from any of these countries,” read a statement from the immigration department.