Kenyans living abroad have protested a recent move by the government to block exiled lawyer Miguna Miguna from returning home.
The Canada-based barrister was expected to land in Nairobi on Tuesday, November 16, but was blocked from boarding an Air France flight due to a “Red Alert” issued by Kenyan authorities.
The Kenyans in the diaspora led by Sebastian Onyango, Chairman of Diaspora for Change and Justice of Kenya Initiative, are now threatening to sue the airline and the government for abusing Miguna’s rights.
In a statement, Onyango said the lobby group will be petitioning the High Court in Milimani to demand that Air France disclose legal reasons for declining to fly the opposition politician home.
The group also wants the court to issue orders barring Air France and its associates from landing anywhere in Kenya until it complies with orders to fly Miguna home.
Onyango further urged President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration to respect rule of law.
“Despite several court orders requiring the government to allow, facilitate and not to interfere with the return of Miguna to the country, the leadership continues to refuse to comply and continue to disobey these court orders by issuing illegal red alerts to airlines scheduled to fly Miguna back home to Kenya,” they claim.
Read: Miguna’s Return Uncertain as Court Declines to Lift Red Alerts
“President Uhuru Kenyatta must allow Miguna Miguna back home and shall be held personally responsible if anything were to happen to him. When you target one Kenyan you target all of us. Kenyans must stop the hypocrisy of thinking it’s someone else. The lion will soon swallow all of us. We must stop them dead on their tracks.”
Miguna was dealt a blow last week after the High Court declined to lift “Red Alerts” blocking his return to Kenya.
In a ruling issued on Friday, Justice Hedwig Ong’undi said there was no evidence showing that Miguna had been stopped from returning to the country.
“There is no evidence to prove the alerts exist. This court cannot rule on speculation to grant the orders he is seeking. Case dismissed,” Justice Hedwig said.
Read Also: I Won’t Cancel My Travel Plans- Miguna Reacts to Court Ruling on Red Alerts
“Court being a Court of law expected him to adduce evidence to prove existence of the red alerts.”
A lobby group led by former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi moved filed a petition yesterday seeking to compel the government to lift the Red Alerts.
A team of lawyers representing Miguna argues the government failed to keep its word and lied to the court that it had not declared him a prohibited immigrant.
Read Also: Former CJ Mutunga wants Judges to Down Tools Over State’s “Disobedience” of Court Orders
Miguna, who is stuck in Berlin, Germany, has vowed to fight until he is allowed to fly to Nairobi.
The self-declared National Resistance Movement (NRM) leader was deported to Canada in February 2018 after presiding over the oath of opposition leader Raila Odinga as the “People’s President”.
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