Miguna issue raises a question for us: Is my Kenyadian dual citizenship safe?

The Miguna Miguna deportation to Canada has awaken an issue that many of us in the diaspora were unaware of or may be overlooking.

The politics surrounding it seem ambiguous, even murky, but the law isn’t. Kenyan law clearly stipulates that if one acquired citizenship of another country before promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, that person automatically lost their Kenyan citizenship, since under the repealed Kenyan constitution, Kenyan citizens were allowed only one nationality.

Contrary to common belief, the new constitution did not automatically reinstate those who had renounced their Kenyan citizenship by accepting that of another country before 2010. The law demands that people who acquired citizenship of other countries before 2010 must to apply to regain their “Birth Right”. Additionally, the same law requires that when one acquires citizenship of another country, he/she should formally notify the Kenyan government within 3 months. It is an offense not to do so.

I wonder how many of those affected have done so.

While some Kenyans abroad were unaware of these legal requirements, we have no excuse anymore.

In some cases, ignorance is not bliss so get those papers straightened out.

Learn more: http://www.immigration.go.ke/

~Wakenya Canada