Foreigner must leave in 30 days, court says

Mr Scott James Edman, a man who has been languishing in prison for more than six years because his nationality is unknown will be freed, but he has to leave Kenya in 30 days. He is expected to name a country where he wants to be taken and the government should pay for his travel expenses, the High Court has ordered.

Mr Justice Mohammed Warsame directed the Immigration Department to issue Mr Edman, who has adamantly refused to disclose his nationality, with a certificate of identification to speed up his travel out of Kenya. Mr Edman was first arrested in Kenya on April 2, 1996, and charged with various offences, among them being in the country illegally and holding a forged Australian passport.

He went through a full trial after which he was found guilty and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. However, after serving the sentence he could not be repatriated because he refused to disclose his true identity and country of origin.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees made the matter worse when it declined to give him protection and refugee status through a letter dated January 29, 1998. The Australian High Commission too declined to accept him, saying he was not an Australian.

Two years later, the government issued Mr Edman with a certificate of identification and directed him to leave the country but he refused. Consequently he was arrested and charged again on August 10, 2000, with being in Kenya unlawfully.

He was again found guilty and fined Sh3,000 or three months’ imprisonment in default. Again the court issued an order to have him repatriated. But this order could not be obeyed because Mr Edman still refused to disclose his nationality.

Inadmissible

In November 2003, he was released from custody and issued with a prohibited immigrant’s notice after which he travelled to Dubai. He was declared inadmissible in Dubai because he did not have travel documents and he returned to Kenya.

He then told the authorities that his country of origin was the United States, but he was born in Papua New Guinea and that his parents were Australians. Upon investigations the information he gave to the immigration authorities about his identity turned out to be false again forcing all parties involved to go back to the drawing board.

The State law office has been in a dilemma on how to handle Mr Edman’s case since the country has not ratified the United Nations conventions on stateless people. Mr Justice Warsame, while issuing the order on Thursday, said that most circumstances such people find themselves in were either self-induced or created by State.