Born in Kenya, deported to Canada — why this activist can't wait to get home
The Kenyan government has deported a well-known political activist — to Canada.
"It's been one of the worst weeks in my life," Miguna Miguna told As It Happens host Carol Off.
Miguna, who is a dual citizen of Kenya and Canada, was arrested and accused of treason on Feb. 2 for his role in an unofficial swearing-in ceremony of Opposition Leader Raile Odinga as the "people's president."
Odinga boycotted last year's election because he believed it would be rigged in favour of President Uhuru Kenyatta, who won with 98 per cent of the vote and a 39 per cent turnout.
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Miguna obtained Canadian citizenship after fleeing the Kenyan government of president Daniel arap Moi in 1987 and claiming political asylum.
He arrived at Toronto's Pearson International Airport on Wednesday night.
Miguna spoke with As It Happens host Carol Off about his ordeal from his new home in Toronto. Here is part of their conversation.
How does it feel to be in Canada?
Oh, what a relief given the horrible week I've had. It's been one of the worst weeks in my life. Only comparable to another two weeks I had in Kenya in 1987.
Who came to arrest you and how did they do that?
It is even difficult to say who came to arrest me because what I did hear was a huge explosion at the entrance of my residence.
At first I thought it was an electric malfunction, something that the house was blowing up. So I almost ran out. But then, as I listened, I heard people running around the house.
So where did they take you?
Githunguri Police Station is the first place where they put me into a cell.
They kept me there waiting for the full day. I had no access to counsel even though I demanded so. I had no access to my family even though I demanded so. They had already taken my phone so I had no contact to anyone and I couldn't leave the station.
Did they take you to court?
They only took me to court on Tuesday, the same day they deported me. And the judge there refused to listen to them and told them they had to take me back to Nairobi. And instead of taking me back to Nairobi, they deported me.
What was it they were trying to get you charged with?
They say that I assisted Raile Odinga to commit treason because I'm the one that commissioned the oath. But really, they have not arrested Raile Odinga.
Why was it you and not him?
Because the state knows that if you touch Mr. Odinga, that would be the end of the administration immediately because he commands support from more than 70 per cent of the Kenyan population. They believe that I'm the head of Mr. Odinga, so to speak. So they think that if they chop of the head, the body will die.
How did you come to be deported?
Because getting rid of me is all they wanted. You could either kill me, that is getting rid of me. But then I had already alerted the entire world.
I know you say it was similar to the horrors you went through in the 1980s, which led you to seek asylum in Canada. What happened to you there?
The worst of it was psychological torture. I only ate two meals in five days. I did not sleep even one day I was kept standing or lying on the floor the majority of the time. I had no access to anyone.
Being in custody and the way you were treated in the last week, did that bring back memories of what happened to you in the 1980s?
It did. And it made me feel worse than in 1987. Because in 1987, there was one-party state. But this time we have a constitutional multiparty state. And our constitution is quite robust with the bill of rights almost equivalent to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Canada.
So if the current regime can perpetrate these atrocities under a new constitutional dispensation, it's worse than a dictatorship.
A judge has now ordered that you return, or that you be returned, that you never should have been deported. Will you go back?
Anytime, yes. I'm ready.
Even if it means facing charges and possibly ending up back in the system that you've just escaped?
Sacrifices would have to be made. Change would have to result by people taking positive, bold, courageous steps. And risking their lives. If that is the price I have to pay, of course I am ready for it.
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This interview has been edited for length and clarity. For more, listen to our conversation with Miguna Miguna in the player above.