Kenyan court suspends order to deport opposition lawyer

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - A high court on Monday suspended the interior minister's order that led to deportation to Canada of dual national opposition politician and lawyer Miguna Miguna after terming him as an "illegal immigrant".

Judge Chacha Mwita ordered the immigration department to immediately issue Miguna a Kenyan passport and facilitate his return to Kenya.

The lawyer, who was born and raised in the East African country, could also use his Canadian passport to come to Kenya if he so wishes, the judge said in the order.

“Miguna should be issued with travel documents and he should be allowed back to Kenya on a day he chooses and to remain within the country until his petition is heard and determined,” he added.

Opposition politician and lawyer James Orengo told reporters: “The government within the law can no longer refuse Miguna from entering the country; they can try and use all manner of contrivances but the orders of the court are clear.”

Miguna was deported to Canada after the Kenyan government came under fire for ignoring numerous court orders directing them to produce the detained opposition leader.

He had been arrested for taking part in a mock swearing-in ceremony of opposition leader Raila Odinga as president. Opposition supporters later took to the streets to demand his release, resulting in two deaths during running battles with police.

Miguna had declared himself as a self-proclaimed general of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), which was formed by Odinga from his National Super Alliance (NASA) -- a political movement that piled pressure on President Uhuru Kenyatta to step aside and call for snap elections.

The NRM movement had been declared as an organized criminal group by the Kenyan government last month; however, on Monday, the judge put a suspension on the order declaring the NRM as a criminal gang in the gazette notice.