By Andrew Kariuki
High Court Judge Bahati Mwamuye has awarded Ksh3.5 million in general and aggravated damages to businessman Abdiqiadar Omar Osman after finding that he was unlawfully arrested and deported to Somalia without due process.
In his judgment, Justice Mwamuye declared that Osman is a Kenyan citizen by birth and ruled that the actions taken against him were illegal, unconstitutional and in violation of his fundamental rights.
The court heard that Osman was arrested in May 2018 while travelling from Kampala to Kenya.
Through his advocate, Danstan Omari, he told the court that he was neither informed of the reasons for his arrest nor granted access to legal representation.
He was also not presented before a court within 24 hours as required under Article 49 of the Constitution.
Instead, he was taken to immigration offices at Nyayo House and subsequently deported to Somalia without any formal extradition proceedings or lawful deportation order.
Justice Mwamuye held that the forcible removal of Osman from the country without adherence to constitutional safeguards violated his rights to liberty, human dignity and fair administrative action.
The court further noted that Osman holds a Kenyan birth certificate and a national identity card, affirming his citizenship status.
Addressing confusion arising from similarity of names with another individual, the judge stated that the authorities’ failure to properly verify identity documents before acting amounted to a serious administrative lapse.
The award of damages, the court said, was necessary to vindicate Osman’s constitutional rights and to underscore the importance of adherence to due process in matters involving personal liberty and citizenship.
