State: Miguna Miguna to blame for his woes

Miguna Miguna at Frankfurt Airport on January 7, 2010 where he was blocked from boarding a plane. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • Spokesman Cyrus Oguna denied claims they had frustrated the lawyer from entering the country arguing that the failure of his trip to Kenya, twice on Tuesday, was as a result of the events of March 2018, which culminated in Dr Miguna being categorised as an unruly passenger.

The State on Wednesday distanced itself from the travails of controversial lawyer Miguna Miguna claiming he was a victim of his own unruly behaviour.

Spokesman Cyrus Oguna denied claims they had frustrated the lawyer from entering the country arguing that the failure of his trip to Kenya, twice on Tuesday, was as a result of the events of March 2018, which culminated in Dr Miguna being categorised as an unruly passenger.

JKIA DRAMA

Mr Oguna said that the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had categorised Dr Miguna as an unruly passenger as a result of the commotion he caused at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) before the government deported him to Canada for the second time on March 27, 2018.

“Dr Miguna was categorised as an unruly passenger in line with Annex 17 of ICAO standards and recommended practices that allow prohibition of unruly passengers,” Mr Oguna said.

Mr Oguna issued the statement as the High Court tasked the government to file a response on the red alert advisory that saw Dr Miguna stopped from flying into Kenya on Tuesday.

While appearing before Justice Weldon Korir, lawyers representing the State were asked to file documents to the court indicating information surrounding the return of the embattled activist.

The parties are expected in court today for a hearing before a further directive is issued.

However, Dr Miguna swiftly dismissed the statement, saying that no airline has categorised him as unruly or stopped him from travelling.

He said he had used more than 10 airlines in the past two years none of which restricted his flights due to the alleged “categorisation.”

“Maybe they thought that I would become frustrated and unruly after their numerous attempts to provoke me using the red alert. Their nefarious schemes have failed,” the lawyer said in response.

He added: “From Canada to Austria, Germany, France and Switzerland. I have recently also travelled to the United States, UK and Mexico. None of these countries have denied me entry, yet I am not a citizen in those countries,” he said.

The government’s statement came after Dr Miguna’s much anticipated journey back to Kenya aborted after two airlines refused to fly him on advice of the Kenya government.

While Lufthansa barred the lawyer from checking in for his flight on Tuesday morning, Dr Miguna would later the same day confront another infamy when managers of Air France in Paris ejected him after he had taken his seat.

In his words, Dr Miguna claimed that Lufthansa authorities told him the Office of the President in Kenya had issued a red alert warning the airline against flying him to Nairobi.

On Wednesday, Mr Oguna made no mention of the claims made by Dr Miguna on the red alert against flying him to Kenya.

Instead, the government said that the lawyer’s unruly behaviour has the potential of threatening JKIA status as a category A1 facility which Mr Oguna said took the country a lot of effort and work to achieve.

“This category certifies that we put in place all the necessary safety and security measures in all our airports. This is an accomplishment we are jealously committed to protect,” Mr Oguna said.

Saying the government is willing to obey court orders, Mr Oguna faulted Dr Miguna for failing to take advantage of Kenyan Missions abroad to get his passport, and advised him to cooperate as the missions are ready to assist him.

PROHIBITED IMMIGRANT

“Our missions are ready and willing to assist him get his documents once he presents himself," Mr Oguna said.

Dr Miguna is anchored on orders the High Court has delivered since he was first deported after he ran foul of the government after administering an oath to ODM leader Raila Odinga as ''people’s president'' on January 30, 2018.

In one of the orders, Justice Chacha Mwita ruled that Dr Miguna's rights were violated by his deportation and suspended Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i’s declaration that the lawyer is a prohibited immigrant.

The judge also suspended the cancellation of his passport and ordered the Immigration Department to facilitate his return from Canada.

Justice Mwita awarded Dr Miguna Sh7 million as compensation for the violation of his rights during his deportation, noting that if the lawyer had to be sent away, the process should have been carried out in line with the Fair Administrative Act.

On Monday, Justice Korir ordered the government to facilitate Miguna’s return and entry into Kenya without any conditions, arguing that his national identity card was a sufficient travel document.