Luo elders should be engaged to return Miguna Miguna home

The case of Dr Miguna Miguna, an exiled Kenyan lawyer, versus the Republic of Kenya, is often viewed as a matter pitting President Kenyatta against the constitution of Kenya. This is because Miguna, in his defence, is shielding himself with the constitution to regain his birthright provided for in Chapter three, Article 14 of the Kenya Constitution, 2010.

When the state wanted to kick Miguna in the face, they first hit the constitution to the extent of mutilating and tearing out all of chapter 4 in the bill of rights. And this made the people, especially the proponents of the constitution, very furious. At times, when one is deprived of his legal rights in contravention of the law, informed and active citizens stand up to defend the law.

Dr Miguna Miguna’s woes emanated from his role in the mock swearing-in of ODM leader, Raila Amolo Odinga, as People’s President on January 30, 2018, following the disputed presidential election.

However, these persistent reprisals against Miguna remain uncalled for because the country is too big to fight or revenge against its innocent citizens. Secondly, Kenya is in reconciliatory season dubbed ‘Handshake Project’ which came as a result of President Kenyatta and opposition leader, Raila Odinga, burying the hatchet with a view to reunite antagonistic political forces for the sake of peace, unity and development of the country.

More importantly, the high courts have spoken in favour of Miguna. Thus, the state officers who are barring Miguna’s return should be asked ‘quo warranto,’ or by whose authority and mandate are they barring Miguna from returning to Kenya?

Dr Miguna Miguna is a typical Kenyan who is a consistent social justice crusader. Furthermore, he is a hardworking and patriotic son of the soil whose sweat has solidified the foundation of Kenya’s democratic society, which President Uhuru is leading as head of state.

The act of deporting Miguna to Canada, the country of our former colonisers, is an insult to the person of President Uhuru, who is the son of one of Africa’s independence heroes. President Uhuru’s father, Jomo Kenyatta, was one of the fathers of Pan Africanism.

Dr Miguna Miguna is a certified and brave Pan Africanist. I gladly recalled that in January 2014, a fortnight after South Sudan plunged into a civil war that led to the death of 500,000 people, Miguna was the first Kenyan intellectual to pen an article titled ‘‘South Sudan Crisis due to Corruption and Tribalism,” which I totally concur with. It would be better to arrest and detain Miguna incommunicado than to send him to Canada or Europe. Africa wants Miguna home, and Kenya needs him more to come and continue with the quest for social justice.

Relate with this

In the 1960s, former Jamaican Prime Minister, Norman Manely sent a 10-man delegation of Africans who were seeking justice and repatriation to Africa. They came to meet the leaders of Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone after their independence.

The First Chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), His Mighty King-Emperor Haile Selassie, said to them, “People of the West who are black and of African descent, as long as you are black and of African descent, you’re entitled to come, the land is here for you.”

President Kenyatta’s role in the Kenyan constitution-making process is huge. But the head of state risks erasing his positive contribution by disregarding the court rulings. The below-named violations outweigh and override his past performances. Notably, the President’s refusal to appoint and swear in the three courts of appeal judges that were interviewed and approved by the judicial service commission (JSC) and his sheer disregard of the high court rulings in Miguna’s case is an affront to the constitution and the rule of law. In his lecture delivered on December 1, 2021, Dr Charles Moitui stated that the opposite of the rule of law is “arbitrariness’,” which means, a decision based on personal whim, mostly by leader/s in power.

To put the argument straight or plain, I would say that, the issuance of ‘red alert’ that prevented Miguna from boarding a plane back to Kenya on November 15, plus none compliance with various court rulings makes me apportioned blames on the executive arm of government headed by President Kenyatta.

The state is not only retaliating against Miguna for swearing in the ODM leader alone, but it is also fighting back against the law and its interpreters for the losses and humiliations incurred by the state in past events. Human beings can be emotional, and they are not immune from making mistakes, and presidents or leaders are no exception. There are unforgettable occasions where President Kenyatta comes into conflict with the law without being spared. And I think this is where he draws his ire from the constitution and international law. 

First, in October 2014, he travelled to attend a court hearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the court rejected his request to participate in the video.

Second, in 2017, the Supreme Court of Kenya nullified his election victory and called for a rerun, citing irregularities during the election process, and third, was the nullification of his Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) by the court of appeal in August 2021.

In view of the above, I doubt if the Kenyan judiciary or defence counsels for Miguna will succeed in bringing him back to Kenya on time. Therefore, I suggest that Miguna’s case should be given a trial by the respected Luo council of Elders. On many occasions, I have seen the president have respect for the elderly and young. The Luo elders should use their abundant wisdom and diplomatic means to make the president’s temper slow down by locating exactly where Miguna’s placenta was buried. Perhaps, this will make the head of state get convinced if at all, he still believed Miguna was not a Kenyan citizen by birth.

The Luo council of elders should not remain mum on this matter anymore, because it is their biological son that is being stripped of his birthright by force. Now is the time for the Luo community leadership to think of borrowing a leave from the parable of the lost sheep in Matthew 18:10-14 where ‘‘Jesus stresses that when the shepherd finds the lost sheep, he rejoices over it more than the 99 who did not go astray.’’

Even though Miguna has of late become a thorn in the flesh of former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, alias Baba or Jakom, who is the kingpin of the Luo community, the Elders should get involved and intervene positively in a manner that can restore national peace and the rule of law in Kenya.

The writer is the Chairman of the Liech Community Association in Kenya; the views expressed here are his own, and he can be reached for comments via eligodakb@yahoo.com

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