This archive report was first published on 15 November 2019.
On November 15, 2019, Justice James Makau of the High Court made a landmark ruling that ambassadors are not state officers and therefore cannot be barred from holding the office due to dual citizenship.
Mwende Mwinzi, Kenya's ambassadorial nominee to South Korea, had been battling parliament's demands that she renounce her American citizenship before taking up the post.
According to Justice Makau, an ambassador is an appointee of the president and falls under public office, which is distinct from state offices that require appointees to renounce dual citizenship.
Ms. Mwinzi, who was born in Milwaukee, US in 1971 to an American mother and a Kenyan father, is eligible for appointment as ambassador since her US citizenship is protected by law, the judge ruled.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had nominated Mwinzi as the country's ambassador to Seoul on May 2, but MPs had recommended that she renounce her American citizenship before taking up the position.
