Miguna Miguna Spends the Night at JKIA Police Station after Failed Deportation Attempt

Former Nairobi gubernatorial aspirant Miguna Miguna spent the night at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) police station on Monday.

This was after attempts by Immigration authorities and airport security officials to re-deport him back to Canada via Dubai on Monday failed after the he stood his ground and refused to board an Emirates airline flight.

A heavy contingent of police officers had forcefully placed him into a Dubai-bound flight, but Miguna disembarked the plane and insisted he will not board.

The Emirates flight was set to depart JKIA at 10:45pm, but was deliberately delayed to have Miguna bundled into it. Miguna had arrived at the Nairobi airport from Canada at about 2:30 pm, but was denied entry after refusing to surrender the passport he travelled in.

Efforts by National Super Alliance (Nasa) leader Raila Odinga to secure his clearance and have him allowed to enter the country failed.

On Tuesday, the Immigration Department reiterated that Miguna was not a Kenyan citizen and must, therefore, fill relevant documents to reclaim his lost citizenship.

Acting Director of Immigration Services, Joseph Munywoki said the firebrand lawyer lost his Kenyan citizenship in 1998 after acquiring a Canadian one, at a time when Kenyan Constitution didn't allow dual citizenship.

“To enable Miguna regularise his citizenship status, the Department of Immigration has dispatched the requisite application forms for Miguna to fill the process,” the statement read.

Munywoki further noted that the "Peeling Back the Mask" author didn't bother to apply for dual citizenship upon the promulgation of the new Kenyan Constitution.

Efforts by his lawyers to see him at the airport on Tuesday morning were unsuccessful as security officers denied them entry.