American Man Sues to Claim Kenyan Identity: A Quest for Ancestral Roots
A person of African American descent has taken legal action to be officially acknowledged as a Kenyan citizen, asserting their inherent right to return to their homeland and ancestral roots in Africa.
Mr. Mubarak Abdul Muqsit Akram, an American citizen, asserts that he has deliberately selected Kenya as his familial homeland.
He mentions that being aware of his origins and cultural background in the African continent, he made a brief visit to Kenya in 2003. Subsequently, he revisited in 2008, where he experienced a sense of solace, warmth, and comfort, despite being considered a ‘foreigner.’
In his plea filed at the High Court in Mombasa, he is requesting a declaration asserting that, by international law and the constitution, his entitlement to return to his ancestral home and the selection of Kenya as his destination is ensured and safeguarded, and should be upheld by the government.
Mr. Akram is also requesting a directive for the Director of Immigration and Citizen Services to acknowledge him as a Kenyan citizen and provide him with a passport and National Identity Card within 30 days of the court’s decision, considering it his entitlement.
The person filing the petition claims to have submitted multiple unsuccessful requests for Kenyan citizenship to the Department of Immigration, receiving no response on any occasion.
Mr. Akram states that he was born in Texas in 1946 to African American parents. Since his return to Kenya in 2008, he has successfully set up and registered multiple businesses, managing them from his operational hub in Kwale County.
The individual possessing a foreigner certificate has filed a lawsuit against the Cabinet Secretary for Interior, the Director General of the Department of Immigration and Citizen Services, and the Attorney General.
As per the petitioner, he bases his selection of Kenya as his ancestral homeland on and is guided by the stipulations outlined in The Abuja Proclamation.
The Proclamation is “a declaration of the Pan African Conference on reparations for African Enslavement, Colonisation and Neo Colonisation” which was sponsored by the African Union and held in Abuja Nigeria in April 1993.
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The petitioner says that among the provisions of the proclamation was a declaration calling upon all African states “to grant entrance as of right to all persons of African descent and right to obtain residence in those African states, if there is no disqualifying element on an African claiming the right to return to his ancestral home, Africa”.
“It is the petitioner’s firm belief and conviction that the Abuja Proclamation forms part of the laws of Kenya by the provisions of the constitution which provides that all general rules of international law and any treaty or convention ratified by Kenya shall form part of the laws of Kenya under the constitution,” part of the petition states.
Mr. Akram asserts that his request for citizenship is based on his belief that he does not fall into categories such as refugee, asylum seeker, immigrant, emigrant, foreigner, visitor, or someone in exile.
He asserts that the denial of his citizenship request by the Directorate of Immigration and Citizens Services, which is guaranteed as a right in the Abuja Proclamation, constitutes a breach of the constitution.
“The petitioner’s right to return to his motherland has been infringed in violation of the constitution. The petitioner has simply expressed his wish to exercise his right to return to his ancestral country,” part of the petition states.
The petitioner contends that the Directorate of Immigration and Citizen Services’ failure to address his correspondence or provide reasons, if any, for the denial constitutes a breach of the constitutional provisions related to fair administrative action.
The petitioner also seeks a declaration that his rights under the constitution have been violated.
Mr. Akram is seeking a statement asserting that Kenya is obligated by its constitution to recognize, maintain, and adhere to the fundamental principles of international law, including the treaties and conventions to which it is a signatory.
American Man Sues to Claim Kenyan Identity: A Quest for Ancestral Roots
