President Ruto Apologizes to Lawyer Miguna Miguna for His Deportation

President Ruto has apologized to Kenyan-Canadian attorney Miguna Miguna for the violation of his rights by the Jubilee administration.

Ruto and Miguna met on Saturday during the president’s three-day development tour of the Nyanza region. 

"I am sorry for what the government did to you. I am very sorry. It was unfair. I apologize," Ruto is quoted telling Miguna.

Through Twitter on Saturday, Miguna said the president apologized to him for the "brutality inflicted" upon him by the previous regime, adding that he accepted the apology.

"H.E. @WilliamsRuto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander In Chief of the Defence Forces, earlier this morning apologized to me on his behalf and on behalf of the Government for the brutality inflicted upon me by the previous regime. I accept the apology," he tweeted.

Miguna was deported to Canada in February 2018 following his arrest for administering the swearing-in of ODM leader Raila Odinga as ‘people’s president’. 

At the time, immigration authorities claimed he was a Canadian national, arguing that he never re-applied for his Kenyan citizenship after the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, which provides for dual citizenship.

In 2018, a Nairobi court ruled the lawyer is a Kenyan citizen and that his birthright cannot be changed. High Court judge Chacha Mwita awarded Miguna Sh7 million for what the court found to be a violation of his human rights.

Miguna returned to the country last October after President Ruto lifted the red alerts that had been placed against him and issued him a new Kenyan passport.