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Kenyan politician says he was drugged in toilet then deported Kenyan opposition politician 'injected' and deported unconscious
(about 4 hours later)
A Kenyan opposition politician has alleged he was drugged before he was deported to Dubai on Thursday, after his attempt to enter Kenya led to him being detained in an airport toilet for more than a day. A Kenyan opposition politician has alleged he was beaten, held down and injected “with noxious substances” by officials before being deported unconscious from Nairobi airport to Dubai on Thursday.
Miguna Miguna, who appears to have been targeted in a government crackdown amid lingering election tensions, was sent to Dubai despite a court ordering authorities to release him, his lawyer Cliff Ombeta said. Miguna Miguna said he had attempted to enter Kenya on Monday but was detained in an airport toilet for more than a day before being assaulted by more than 50 “thugs”, led by a police officer who ignored a court order for his release. In a Facebook post he said he woke up many hours later on a plane at Dubai airport.
Police at the airport roughed up lawyers and forced them to leave when they tried to serve the court order, said another lawyer, James Orengo. Kenya has been hit by prolonged political turmoil that has slowed growth and threatens to tip the emerging east African economy into chaos.
Miguna said in a Facebook post that authorities broke into the Kenyan airport toilet where he had been held and forcibly injected him with a substance and he passed out. In November, Uhuru Kenyatta won another five-year term as president in an election rerun triggered when the supreme court annulled the result of an August election because of irregularities.
He said he regained consciousness onboard an Emirates flight as it arrived in Dubai. Miguna wrote that he was refusing to leave the international section of Dubai airport and insisted he must return to Kenya. Kenyatta won the rerun with 98% of the vote, but turnout was only 39% after the opposition boycotted the poll, saying it was neither free nor fair.
“I will and must return to Kenya as a Kenyan citizen by birth as various courts have ordered,” Miguna wrote. Around 100 people have been killed in political violence, mainly in clashes between opposition supporters and security forces.
There was no immediate response from Kenyan authorities, though Kenya’s immigration department retweeted a post calling on the public to ignore a rumour that Miguna had been sedated or drugged. Recent months have seen intensifying confrontations between authorities and the judiciary.
The deportation followed a bizarre sequence of events at a Nairobi airport, during which Miguna posted from what he called the “Toilet at Terminal 2” saying he had been detained in the “filthy” facilities. Miguna was arrested in February after participating in a mock swearing-in ceremony for the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, which was attended by thousands of people.
Hours before he was deported, a high court judge declared Kenya’s interior minister, national police chief and permanent secretary for immigration in contempt of court for disregarding an order to immediately release Miguna, said another lawyer, Nelson Havi. Justice George Odunga ordered the officials to show up in court on Thursday morning or be jailed. Government lawyers called the ceremony an act of treason. Miguna was deported shortly afterwards, despite court orders for his release. He has continued his defiance from abroad.
Miguna was previously deported to Canada on 6 February in a crackdown on politicians who attended a mock inauguration of the opposition leader Raila Odinga to protest against the re-election of the Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta. His new attempt to enter Kenya came just two weeks after a surprise meeting between Odinga and Kenyatta, who announced a new initiative to heal increasingly bitter divisions in the country.
A court later ordered that Miguna’s Kenyan passport be restored and that he be allowed to return. However, when Miguna arrived on Monday at Jomo Kenyatta international airport, plainclothes officers tried to hustle him on to an outbound plane, witnesses said. That failed when he protested. Officials have said Minguna is not a Kenyan citizen after failing to correctly complete paperwork when he became a Canadian citizen some years ago.
Miguna later posted statements on social media saying he had been “detained inside a tiny and filthy toilet” in one of the terminals. “I have not eaten. I have not taken a shower. I have not been given access to my lawyers, family members and physicians.” The deportation followed a bizarre sequence of events at Nairobi’s international airport, during which Miguna posted from what he called the “Toilet at Terminal 2” saying he had been detained in the “filthy” facilities.
Miguna could not appear in court as ordered because his entry into the country was still being processed, a lawyer representing Kenya’s attorney general, Japheth Mutinda, told the court. Hours before he was deported, a high court judge declared Kenya’s interior minister, national police chief and permanent secretary for immigration in contempt of court for disregarding an order to immediately release Miguna, said another lawyer, Nelson Havi.
The airport confrontation comes two weeks after a surprise meeting between Odinga and Kenyatta, who announced a new initiative to heal the east African country after months of sometimes deadly election turmoil. After his first deportation last month, a court later ordered that Miguna’s Kenyan passport be restored and that he be allowed to return.
Odinga had argued that Kenyatta lacked legitimacy because his initial election victory in August was nullified by the supreme court over “irregularities and illegalities”. The repeat election had a low turnout as Odinga boycotted it, citing a lack of electoral reforms. However, when Miguna arrived on Monday at Jomo Kenyatta international airport, plainclothes officers tried to hustle him on to an outbound plane, witnesses said. That failed when he protested.
Miguna was at Odinga’s side when he took an oath as the “people’s president” at the mock inauguration. The government responded by arresting opposition politicians. On Thursday he called for international support.
He wrote that he was refusing to leave the international section of Dubai airport and insisted he must return to Kenya.
“I will and must return to Kenya as a Kenyan citizen by birth as various courts have ordered,” he said.
“I woke up here in Dubai and I have nothing. I need the international community and everyone on this case … I’m not going to agree to board anything, because this is against my will. I’m sick I can’t even walk,” Miguna was quoted as saying by The Nation, a Kenyan newspaper.
There was no immediate response from Kenyan authorities to Minguna’s claims, though Kenya’s immigration department retweeted a post calling on the public to ignore a rumour that Miguna had been sedated or drugged.
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