Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has clarified details on the requirements exiled lawyer Miguna Miguna needs to meet to return to the country.
According to Matiang’i, citing the rule of law, Miguna will be required to fill out a one-page document for citizenship re-registration, which will allow him to return to the country.
“You have to fill a piece of paper so that you regain your Kenyan passport or citizenship. There’s a judgment by the court on this matter which prescribed clearly how you regain your citizenship,” said Matiang’i speaking to NTV on Sunday.
According to CS Matiang’i, Miguna lost his citizenship due to the requirements of the old constitution, which prohibited dual citizenship.
He stated that the implementation of the new constitution has enabled a large number of Kenyans to reclaim their citizenship through the same registration process as stipulated by law.
“There are court rulings in place by the high court on how you regain citizenship after you lost citizenship in the old constitution. Because in the old constitution you were not allowed to have dual citizenship,” said Matiang’i.
“When the new constitution was enacted which provides for dual citizenship, a process on how to regain the citizenship was enacted in the act, you have to regain your citizenship if you lost it. Over 300,000 Kenyans have regained their citizenship, the process is as simple as filling a one-page document.”
He went on to chastise the embattled lawyer for failing to comply with court orders, claiming that it is a simple task that requires no argument.
“We have opened immigration offices across the world even in Canada…what is it that’s so difficult in filling this one-page piece of paper?” he posed.
This comes as Miguna has been at odds with the Kenyan government over his return, claiming that he is a Kenyan citizen by birth and does not need to reapply.
His most recent attempt to return to Kenya hit a snag after the government issued a fresh red-alert to Air France which Miguna had planned to board from Germany’s capital Berlin.