Update: Story updated with Miguna Miguna response at the bottom:
A homecoming fundraiser to benefit Canadian-based Kenyan lawyer Miguna Miguna is raising eyebrows. Some call him a conman, a word he gleefully uses to attack former Azimio flagbearer, Raila Odinga.
“Wewe sasa ndo conman, if you want to come to Kenya, raise money for your ticket. If you can’t, Kenya isn’t running away, nkt,” Danngulu tweeted.
Another compared him with Odinga, his favorite punching bag on Twitter.
Sasa umeanza kuwa kama Raila. Why should you milk dry Kenyans who want you back? Ukitaka kuja, ukuje. This is very petty of you, sir,” Hakim Njenga tweeted his disapproval.
Some are puzzled why Miguna, perceived as a wealthy lawyer, is hosting a fundraiser.
“Why are people contributing money? He named someone a conman, and NOW?” Nyowila tweeted.
But one supporter clarified they want to throw Miguna a big party.
“Pesa ni za sherehe, watu wame-decide lazima akaribishwe kwa shangwe na vigelegele, sio ati anakuja kama mwizi,” Wariara tweeted in response to Nyowila.
Translation: The money is for the homecoming celebration. We have to welcome him like a hero. He should not sneak back into the country like a thief.
But many are not having it. In a separate thread, Accountant Musanyi questioned Miguna.
“Lawyer mzima, qwanie kule Toronto hakuna job?” Musanyi asked.
“Akili ya omena,” Silas Orumba Wameyo responded.
Organizers insist the effort is above board and only geared toward ensuring Miguna receives a hero’s welcome when he comes home.
“Kenyans from all walks of life cannot wait to welcome back the General! In two weeks time, our country welcomes back a hero. The son of the soil! wuod kano!! Let us give The general a mega reception!!” Agnes Sulwe, one of the organizers, tweeted.
“We are not doing this fundraiser to pay for Dr. Miguna’s air ticket, he already paid for it, and it’s public. Dr. Miguna has fiercely fought for freedom, advocated for democracy, fairness, and justice. Despite his illegal deportation, he fearlessly has been a voice for the voiceless and stayed true to the course despite threats and intimidations. Many Kenyans out here admire that, so the least we can do is offer support.” Agnes Sulwe, fundraiser organizer.
Still, some are not convinced the homecoming warrants a fundraiser prompting Sulwe to explain further.
“Political fundraisers are held everywhere in the world, so there is nothing wrong about this poster. [Miguna’s fundraiser poster] We are being part of this fundraiser for goodwill and because this is one of the ways we can show our support, however little, to @MigunaMiguna. Together we can do this!!” Sulwe said.
Instant rebuttal.
“But he’s practicing law in Canada. He cannot afford a flight, ama?” Oreme Clement tweeted, responding to Sulwe.
The fundraiser Twitter thread is a mixed bag of tweets. Some are supportive and committed to contributing, but most are hostile or sarcastic against the fundraiser.
Some comments have questioned Miguna’s integrity for even entertaining it.
As if in disbelief that Miguna would engage in such an effort, Rono Collins asked the obvious question.
“Is this authentic, sir?” Collins tweeted.
“Yes,” Miguna tweeted back a one-word confirmation.
And the hits kept coming, some surrounding Miguna’s Tesla.
“Kwani ile Tesla ulinunua juzi ilikua ya Mkopa nini?” DeeDee asked.
DeeDee was referring to an August 11 tweet where Miguna posed next to what appeared to be a Tesla Model S electric vehicle, valued at more than Kshs 10 million.
“We at @KmmLawyers have today gone 100% GREEN. Viva!” Miguna tweeted, showing off the shiny black Tesla on Twitter and Facebook.
The display came back to bite him.
“You were scaring us with a Tesla just the other day bana,” Harry Lennox chimed in.
“Uza ile Tesla yako,” Ochido piled on.
Translation: Sell your Tesla.
Organizers have insisted their mission is just an effort to give Miguna the hero’s welcome he deserves.
“We are not doing this fundraiser to pay for Dr. Miguna’s air ticket, he already paid for it, and it’s public. Dr. Miguna has fiercely fought for freedom, advocated for democracy, fairness, and justice. Despite his illegal deportation, he fearlessly has been a voice for the voiceless and stayed true to the course despite threats and intimidations,” Sulwe said in defense of Miguna and the fundraising effort.”
Sulwe expressed the reasons why Miguna has gathered a lot of support among Kenyans worldwide.
“Many Kenyans out here admire that, so the least we can do is offer support. The General serves the interest of the people, so this is not in any way a personal course. He is a hero, that is why we want to accord him a grand reception,” Sulwe said.
It’s unclear how much money organizers have raised so far or how they plan to spend it. In a direct message, Sulwe said they would announce the amount raised when they’re ready.
“Kenyans have been in a tough economic crisis, you have the capability of jetting back without asking for help. Stop being a greedy fool,”–Truman Capote
Miguna on defense and offense.
Miguna has defended the fundraising effort.
“They are not conmen. They are honest Kenyans trying to raise funds legally from those willing to give freely in order to accord me the homecoming they are planning. There is nothing dishonest about that. I only associate with people of integrity. And this is integrity,” Miguna said on Twitter.
Truman Capote disagreed with the organizers and said the fundraiser was ill-advised.
“Kenyans have been in a tough economic crisis, you have the capability of jetting back without asking for help. Stop being a greedy fool,” Capote admonished Miguna on Twitter.
Miguna responded with a bombastic tweet.
“Zombie. I’ve booked my own flight even though those who forced me out and blocked me from returning should have done so. It has cost me more than $3,000. I booked five other flights and spent tens of thousands of dollars in hotels previously, but the Impunity Merchants blocked me,” Miguna said.
Background Story
On September 20, lawyer Miguna Miguna announced on his Twitter account that President William Ruto had had his passport delivered to his home in Toronto, Canada. The development, Miguna said, was a big step to his homecoming in Kenya.
Miguna was forcefully exiled from Kenya in 2018. The Kenyan authorities claimed the lawyer was not legally Kenyan because he had earlier relinquished his Kenyan citizenship when he attained Canadian citizenship.
“I have never, ever renounced my Kenyan citizenship and will never do that. I’ve never even contemplated it,” Miguna said in 2018.
The government then said the lawyer automatically forfeited his Kenyan citizenship when he attained Canadian citizenship because Kenyan citizens were allowed only one nationality under the repealed Kenyan Constitution.
The ministry of interior said after the 2010 Constitution came into effect, Kenyans with foreign citizenship needed were required to reapply to regain their citizenship, an extra step that Miguna refused to do.
Ruto promised to allow Miguna to return to Kenya if elected President. In an interview with Eugene Anagwe of LookUp TV, Miguna cited Ruto’s promise to allow his return to Kenya as one reason for supporting Kenya Kwanza.
The promise granted Ruto a vicious attack dog with a massive following on Twitter, known to his fans as the General.
His no-holds-barred tweets often target Azimio la Umoja flagbearer Raila Odinga, whom he calls a conman, and former President Uhuru Kenyatta, whom he calls a despot, have shaped the narrative for the Kenya Kwanza campaigns.
It’s unclear whether Miguna went through the process other Kenyans go through to regain their Kenyan citizenship as required by the law.
Section 10(1) of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011 provides:
- A person who was a citizen of Kenya by birth and who ceased to be a citizen of Kenya because he or she acquired the citizenship of another country may apply, in the prescribed manner, to the Cabinet Secretary to regain Kenyan citizenship.
- The application under subsection (1) shall be accompanied by—
- proof of applicant’s previous Kenyan citizenship;
- proof of citizenship of the other country;
Miguna has announced to his 2.3 million Twitter followers that he plans to fly back to Kenya on October 20 at 6 PM EAT.
“1687 days after despot Uhuru Kenyatta, conman Raila Odinga, Fred Matiang’i, Karanja Kibicho and Gordon Kihalangwa (Rtd Gen) conspired to illegally seize and destroy my Kenyan Passport, President William Ruto has had a new one delivered to me. Waiting for the lifting of red alerts,” Miguna tweeted last month.
He later confirmed his date and time of landing in Kenya at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
“Arrival date and time have been changed by popular demand. Arrival: October 20, 2022, at 6.00 AM. See you at the JKIA, Patriots,” he said.
Since then, a fundraising poster has been going around on social media, asking Kenyans to fundraise money for Miguna’s return. Some people wonder why Miguna, believed to be wealthy, is fundraising for his homecoming journey.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
This Miguna Miguna's 'homecoming fundraiser' is now taking things a bit too far.
Don't be misused.
Let the General foot all his bills, including the 'homecoming'. pic.twitter.com/ckv2y3B5Cp
— Abuya O. Abuya (@AbuyaOAbuya) October 2, 2022
While Miguna supported Ruto during the campaigns, it’s not a guarantee the outspoken lawyer with a 2.3 million-strong Twitter followers would be silent when the government screws up.
He has criticized the President for chairing a meeting with a lame-duck cabinet lifting the ban on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) foods.
“GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS and SEEDS are not good for human beings. They cannot be good for Africans in general and Kenyans in particular. I have a huge issue with despot Uhuru Kenyatta’s PRIMITIVE cabinet approving GMOs,” Miguna tweeted.
Some have cautioned Miguna that he might find himself in the same position he was with Kenyatta if he keeps antagonizing Ruto.
Kenyan is waiting to see how the Ruto admin would navigate its relationship with the outspoken lawyer.
UPDATE: Below is Miguna’s response to our request for comment.
Good morning, Mr. Ndole.
There is no controversy over the fundraising by my supporters who are organizing my homecoming.
I am disappointed but not surprised that misguided individuals like you refuse to focus on the real issues: the brutal, illegal and unconstitutional destruction of my home by state agents using explosives; my illegal incommunicado detention and torture; my illegal forceful removal from Kenya, twice, once while sedated; the refusal by despot Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime to obey court orders and allow my return for 5 years; and the abuse of power and impunity.
Instead, you are focused on attacking me my supporters for exercising their legal, constitutional and human rights. Have thewy [sic] forced you to donate to their cause? No. Have they stolen public funds to achieve their cause? No. Yet, you are not writing your silly stories about looters and murderers. Shame on you!
Miguna