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Miguna’s travel nightmare continues as he is bundled out of plane in Paris


Miguna Miguna’s journey home has once again hit a snag after he was bundled out of an airline destined for Nairobi.

The opposition politician was on Tuesday night prevented from boarding an Air France flight at Charles De Daulle Airport in Paris, France.

The controversial lawyer, who had earlier on sent a photo taken inside a plane which he said was on its way to Nairobi, later said he had been denied boarding the flight following directions from the Kenyan government to the airline.

Caption of a denied boarding certificate posted on his Twitter feed shows Miguna was denied a boarding pass after checking in to flight AF 814 from Paris (CDG) to Nairobi.

“Mister Miguna Miguna booked or checked-in for flight AF 814 from Paris (CDG) to Nairobi (NBO) on 07 January 2020, but did not board the aircraft. We remain at your service via the ‘Contact us’ section of www.airfrance.com for any follow-up enquiry,” the boarding certificate read in part.

Air France further apologised for the inconvenience caused to Miguna, saying they were simply complying with the international rules governing air transport.

“Dear Mr Miguna, we confirm that at the request of the Kenyan authorities, we were obliged to deny boarding. Like all airlines, Air France is required to comply with the entry requirements for the countries it serves and as such is not authorized to knowingly board passengers for a destination to which they are denied access. By doing so, Air France is simply complying with the international rules governing air transport, which it is required to respect. Best regards,” the airline tweeted.

Miguna had earlier tweeted that he was home-bound after a 10 hour delay following a red alert which saw him denied access to a Lufthansa flight in Frankfurt, Germany.

He was scheduled to leave Germany for Kenya and was to arrive on Tuesday at around 9.25pm.

He later said he was allowed on the flight saying he expected to arrive at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Wednesday at 9:45am.

It was not immediately clear if the trip from Paris to Nairobi was part of Miguna’s original itinerary.

At the heart of Miguna’s travel nightmare is the question of his citizenship.

The Kenyan immigration department says Miguna became a Canadian citizen prior to the promulgation of the new Kenyan Constitution in 2010 that allows for dual citizenship, but to date has not applied to regain his Kenyan citizenship as the Constitution demands.

In 2018, the Kenyan government confiscated a Kenyan passport in Miguna’s possession, saying he acquired it illegally. The government also deported him to Canada.

Miguna however insists he is a bonafide Kenyan citizen by birth and has vowed not to re-apply for Kenyan citizenship or enter Kenya with a Canadian passport and a Kenyan visitor visa.

The Kenyan government through the Directorate of Immigration Services had on Monday said it would comply with a court order facilitating Miguna’s entry into Kenya.