Immigration officials ignore court order, bar Orengo and Wanjigi from flying to Zimbabwe

Senator James Orengo and businessman Jimi Wanjigi. [Photo: Courtesy]

Immigration officials at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport refused to honour a court order to restore passports of NASA leaders and barred them from flying out of the country. 

Senator James Orengo and businessman Jimi Wanjigi had booked tickets to fly to Harare, Zimbabwe to attend the funeral service of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai when they were stopped at the airport. 

Their Kenya Airways flight was scheduled to leave at 9.21 pm but they had checked in by 9.pm. 

Instead, an immigration officer grabbed Wanjigi’s passport and informed him it was suspended before walking from his desk while on phone. 

“That passport belongs to me give it to me. You are ignoring court orders,” Wanjigi told one of the immigration officials present. 

Orengo too shouted asking the immigration officer to identify himself in vain. 

By then, the other passengers were checking in. 

The NASA leaders said they called immigration boss Maj-Gen (Rtd) Gordon Kihalangwa over the drama and he told them he had not seen the orders. 

Orengo told the officials present they were in contempt of court orders over their refusal to allow them to leave. The plane left for Harare leaving them stranded. 

The officials were armed with copies of the orders that they showed the immigration officials who said they were under instructions from above not to allow the passports be used. 

Both Orengo and Wanjigi were to join NASA leader Raila Odinga, Kisumu Governor Prof Anyang’ Nyongo and other Kenyans for the funeral in Harare on Tuesday. They were supposed to fly back tomorrow at mid-day, according to their tickets. 

They said they will stay at the airport until the orders are heeded. 

“The immigration boss says he has not seen the orders yet he has them. This is total impunity and it’s the latest such incident to happen in a series where government officials are ignoring orders,” said Orengo. 

The NASA leaders later rescheduled their flights to Tuesday, 7am and vowed to stay at the airport till then.

The High Court in Nairobi had lifted Government’s decision to suspend passports of seven key Opposition figures among them NASA strategist David Ndii, Orengo and Wanjigi.

Judge John Mativo issued the order pending the hearing of a case filed by the seven leaders over suspension of their passports.

While granting the orders, Justice Mativo directed the matter be filed and served upon the respondents who were also ordered to appear for an inter-party hearing on Monday, February 26, 2018.

Other opposition figures seeking restoration of their passports in the case include political scientist Dr Adams Oloo, Lawyer Paul Mwangi, Dagoretti North MP Simba Arati and Henry Mien, a member of the NASA strategy team.

They named Kihalangwa and Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i as respondents in the case.

The leaders argue that the Government’s action to suspend their passports is “unreasonable, grossly heavy handed and unjustified in an open democratic society.”

The leaders also asked the court to issue a mandatory order compelling the State to reinstate the confiscated passport of Henry Mien.

“Conservatory orders be issued restraining the respondents by themselves or agents from implementing and in any way effecting their decisions to suspend the petitioner’s passports or from interfering with our rights to movement in and out of the county,” read the petition.

The seven said the decision to suspend their passports was communicated via a letter dated February 5, 2018 which was addressed to some of them, in some instances some of their passports were confiscated at the port of departure from Kenya without notification and reasons.

They further claim that the genesis of the violations and threats complained of are the remarks that are attributed to the CS Matiang’i at a press conference held on February 1.