High Court allows unlawfully deported TZ investor back into Kenya

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Milimani Law Courts, Nairobi.

The High Court has ordered the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to permit a Tanzanian investor who was illegally deported to enter into and remain in Kenya.

Justice Mugure Thande also barred the DCI from arresting and deporting businessman Mueiz Ahmed Osman Bilal.

Through lawyer John Swaka, the petitioner sued the DCI, the Inspector General of Police, Director of Immigration Services, CS Ministry of Interior and Coordination National Government and the Attorney General for tagging him as a prohibited immigrant.

Bilal told the court that on 12th April 2022 at about 2.30 pm,  as he was preparing for prayer during the Ramadhan season, he was inhumanely whisked away by officers from DCI’s office into a  waiting vehicle.

He was allegedly informed that orders had been issued for him to be taken to Tanzania as he had been listed as a prohibited immigrant for being involved in organised crime.

The petitioner added that he was taken to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and shuffled into a waiting flight to Tanzania.

The judge ruled that the decision to tag Bilal as a prohibited immigrant without any lawful cause and due process is unconstitutional and unlawful.

“After considering the facts and the law, I find that the petition dated 13th April 2022 is merited,” the judge ruled.

Justice Thande further ordered that should a decision be made to remove Bilal from Kenya, then due process shall be followed.

The judge pointed out that the petitioner had demonstrated that the respondents did not follow due process in dealing with him.

“Worse still, they did not even bother to respond to the petition. As stated by justice Lenaola, as he then was, the constitutional requirement for due process is not illusory but obligatory,” she added.

The judge noted that the casual response to the present petition is worrying and the trend, if it continues, may lead to decisions that would in the end compromise national security.