Matiang’i Breaks Silence on Court Acquittal Over Miguna Deportation Saga
Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has attributed his acquittal in a long running contempt of court case to “divine intervention”.
Speaking on Saturday during a church service in Kisii, the 2027 presidential hopeful thanked God for the ruling that has cleared him and two other senior officials of the legal sanctions.
On September 19, 2025, a three-judge Court of Appeal bench comprising Justices Wanjiru Karanja, Lydia Achode and Joel Ngugi overturned the contempt findings against Matiang’i, former Immigration Principal Secretary (Rtd) Maj. Gen. Gordon Kihalangwa and ex-Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet.
The officials had been fined Ksh.200,000 each by the High Court over the events surrounding the detention and deportation of lawyer Miguna Miguna in March 2018.
In their judgment, the appellate judges faulted the High Court for imposing sanctions without following due process.
“Our holding is narrow: that the imposition of penal and declaratory sanctions for contempt on 28th–29th March, 2018 could not, on the procedure employed, be sustained without a formal motion and due process safeguards,” the judges ruled.
At the time, High Court Judge George Odunga had stopped the proceedings until Miguna was brought before the court. Miguna had been held at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after his return from Canada where immigration authorities claimed he had failed to comply with clearance procedures.
The Interior Ministry had defended his detention saying Miguna was no longer a Kenyan citizen. According to officials, he had lost his citizenship when he took up Canadian citizenship under the old constitution which barred dual citizenship.
With the contempt case now behind him, Matiang’i has seized the opportunity to link the legal victory to his political journey, telling worshippers in Kisii that God had shown him favor ahead of his 2027 presidential bid.
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Matiang’i Breaks Silence on Court Acquittal Over Miguna Deportation Saga