Kenya expels opposition firebrand, again

NAIROBI: An outspoken member of the opposition alliance was Wednesday expelled from Kenya for the second time in two months, his lawyer told AFP.

Miguna Miguna, a firebrand member of the National Super Alliance ( Nasa) coalition, was forced onto an international flight to Canada last month.

The High Court on Feb 26 ordered immigration authorities to allow him to return to the country and he arrived back on Monday.

“He has been deported,” for a second time, said lawyer Cliff Ombeta by telephone.

“It is a Dubai destined flight but we don’t know where they’re taking him.”

An airport source confirmed the new deportation after immigration refused to allow him entry – despite one judge calling for his release and another telling the authorities to present him before a court on Friday.

Miguna’s first expulsion came after he was arrested for treason for taking part in the mock swearing-in of opposition leader Raila Odinga, who insists he is the rightful victor of last year’s elections.

The interior ministry said Miguna had “denounced” his Kenyan citizenship after obtaining Canadian citizenship several years ago.

Holding dual citizenship is legal in Kenya, and in August, Miguna ran for political office, with proof of Kenyan citizenship a key criteria for all candidates.

Miguna holds no elected office, but has styled himself “general” of the opposition’s ‘ National Resistance Movement’ ( NRM) wing, in charge of implementing a threatened programme of civil disobedience and boycotts.

Miguna’s enforced exile is part of a long saga of Kenya’s disputed elections which saw the Supreme Court annul the result of the initial August poll and Odinga boycott the October rerun, handing victory to President Uhuru Kenyatta.

A Human Rights Watch statement released Monday said 104 people had died at the hands of police and armed gangs during the election. — AFP