UK resident wins legal battle for Kenyan citizenship

The High Court has given the government up to six months to grant Kenyan citizenship to a Kenyan-born UK resident.

Justice Lawrence Mugambi ruled that the delay in processing Hamza Mohamed Osman's documents was unreasonable and violated his right to a speedy administrative process.

He applied to have his citizenship restored in 2017.

Inordinate delay

Osman claimed that he had continuously raised the issue of inordinate delay with the Director-General of Kenya Citizens and Foreign National Services Respondent, with no success.

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He told the court that in December 2016, the government declared him an inadmissible person and barred him from entering Kenya, despite providing evidence of his Kenyan roots.

“An order of mandamus be and is hereby issued compelling the 1st Respondent (Director-General) to expedite the processing of the application for regaining Kenyan Citizenship by the Petitioner and advise the Petitioner on the results of his application not later than six months from the date of this order,” the judge said.

Kenyan mother 

Osman stated that he currently resides in the UK and holds a UK passport, although he was born in 1983 to a Kenyan mother and is therefore a Kenyan citizen by birth.

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He explained that he moved to the UK with his mother when he was a minor but returned to Kenya in 1996 to live with his grandmother after his mother's death. He attended school in Kenya between 1996 and 2000.

He then moved to the United Kingdom to study for a law degree and a master's degree in public administration.

The petitioner stated that he had close relatives who were Kenyan citizens living in different parts of the country and that his wife and children were also Kenyan citizens, although they lived with him in the UK.
Osman said that he and his family returned to Kenya in 2012 and that he applied for and obtained a birth certificate and later obtained a Kenyan identity card.

He argued that under the current constitution, natural-born Kenyan citizens who have lost their citizenship after becoming citizens of other countries can apply to regain their Kenyan citizenship. 
Osman said that in December 2016 he returned to Kenya after a trip but was denied entry because he was an inadmissible person. He was not explain, he said. He told the court that subsequent attempts to enter Kenya were thwarted by red alerts issued by the government.

Denied entry

Osman said that despite requesting reasons for denying him entry, none were given, in violation of Article 47(2) of the right to fair administrative action.

The government denied that it was deliberately refusing to complete the citizenship application, but said that citizenship matters were sensitive and had to be handled gradually to ensure that it was given to the right person.

The court heard that in the past, Kenyan primary documents have been obtained by some foreigners through misrepresentation and fraud, so the acquisition of a Kenyan birth certificate by Osman in 2013 and a Kenyan identity card in 2017 did not automatically confer Kenyan citizenship on him.

Waited for 30 years

The government also questioned why he waited for 30 years to apply for a Kenyan birth certificate.

“The upshot of the foregoing is that the Court finds that the 1st Respondent has inordinately delayed considering the Petitioner’s application of regaining citizenship, which is a violation of Article 47 (1) of the Constitution and Section 4 of Fair Administrative Actions Act that entitles every person the right to administrative action that is expeditious,” the judge said.

The judge added that the refusal to give written reasons for the action, which unjustifiably affected Osman's right to freedom of movement, violated Article 47(2) of the Constitution.