Miguna takes on Ruto for failing to act against Matiang’i over 2018 deportation

Lawyer Miguna Miguna has taken a swipe at President William Ruto, accusing him of failing to act on a promise to prosecute former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i over his controversial deportation in 2018.
Speaking during an interview on a local TV station on Sunday, July 13, 2025, Miguna claimed that Ruto had personally assured him that justice would be served upon his return to Kenya in 2022, but has since gone silent on the matter.
“The regime of William Ruto is not interested in making sure that those orders are complied with,” Miguna said.
Adding;
“One of the things that ought to have been done was to put people like Matiang’i, Karanja Kibicho and Kinoti in jail for disobeying court orders, for having done the things that they did.”
Miguna said Ruto had promised to resolve the injustices he suffered, including ordering the then Attorney General Justin Muturi to address his lawsuits and pending compensation.
“Mr Ruto had said to me when I returned to Kenya in 2022 that he would instruct the former AG Muturi to be able to resolve those matters. Like any other lie he has told to many Kenyans, he did not comply with that undertaking,” he said.

He insists that he has already filed legal action against Matiang’i and others for unlawful arrest, torture, deportation, and the five-year exile.
Controversial deportation
Miguna, who holds dual Kenyan and Canadian citizenship, was deported twice by the Kenyan government in 2018. His troubles began after he administered an oath to then chief opposition leader Raila Odinga during the mock swearing-in ceremony on January 30, 2018, a move that was termed treasonous.
Following the ceremony, Miguna was arrested in February and, despite multiple court orders for his release, was forcibly placed on a flight to Canada. He attempted to return to Kenya in March but was again detained at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport under harsh conditions.
He now says he was held in a dirty airport toilet, drugged, and sent to Dubai against his will.
“I was held in a filthy toilet, forcibly injected with sedatives, declared a prohibited immigrant, and deported unconscious to Dubai,” Miguna revealed in the interview.
The High Court later found top government officials, including Fred Matiang’i, police heads, and immigration officers, in contempt of court for ignoring court orders to release Miguna.
“The Constitution of Kenya is about me as it is about you… a violation of my rights … is a violation of the rights of all Kenyans,” he said, warning that ignoring court orders undermines the rule of law.
Despite a 2018 High Court ruling declaring that Miguna had never lost his Kenyan citizenship and ordering the government to return his passport, the orders were ignored for years. Miguna remained in exile until October 2022, when he returned to Kenya shortly after Ruto was sworn in as President.