This archive report was first published on 12 July 2019.
On January 5, 2018, lawyer Miguna Miguna was deported from Kenya, sparking widespread controversy. The deportation was allegedly due to an illegal Kenyan passport, according to senior government officials.
As per a court order, Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet, Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss George Kinoti, and Director of Immigration Gordon Kihalangwa filed affidavits explaining the reasons behind Miguna's deportation.
Boinnet claimed that he was scheduled to attend a National Security Council meeting on the day the judge required him to appear in court. Kihalagwa, on the other hand, stated that he was not a party to the court proceedings and was therefore not aware of any orders restricting his duties.
Furthermore, Boinnet argued that his presence in court would have been unnecessary, as Miguna had already been produced before a court of law with competent jurisdiction. The police boss also claimed that he was informed by the DCI that Miguna was later arrested by Immigration officers.
According to Kihalangwa, Miguna had applied for a Kenyan passport in 1987 to attend the Congress of International Union of Students (IUS) and the World Student Conference in Havana, Cuba. However, the application was rejected.
Five years later, Miguna wrote to the Kenya High Commissioner in Ottawa, requesting him to intervene and issue him with a Kenyan passport. Kihalangwa clarified that in the letter, Miguna stated that he fled the country in 1998 as a political refugee and traveled to Canada without a Kenyan passport.
Supporting their claims, Kihalangwa stated that a Kenyan passport was illegally issued to Miguna in 2009 when he made another application.
