Kenyan ex-MP left in limbo
2006-10-04 22:08
London - A British judge left a former Kenyan government minister's bid to reverse a ban on him entering Britain in legal limbo on Wednesday, saying he needed to see the British government's so far-secret basis for the ban.
Former transport minister Christopher Murungaru began legal action against the British government just about a year ago after the home office suddenly withdrew his visa, citing his "character, conduct and associations".
To back up its case, the government cited laws that bar people accused of corruption and, as the case progressed, also cited unspecified national security worries, said Murungaru's lawyer's Leigh Day & Co.
The government refused to disclose the specific nature of the implied corruption or the national security fears.
Murungaru denied the graft allegations and said the ban interfered not only with his ability to operate as transport minister but also with his basic human rights.
The case ended in May with judgement reserved to a later date.
Murungaru is still in visa limbo
The government had hoped for a straightforward ruling that the ban stood, while Murungaru wanted the opposite.
However, on Wednesday the judge ruled instead that he could not decide on the ban on Murungaru without first seeing in private the supporting evidence from the home office.
"This means that Christopher Murungaru is still in visa limbo. It is going to drag on," said a Leigh Day spokesperson.
There must be at least one more hearing after the judge has seen the supporting documentation.
Murungaru shrugged off the ruling and the British high commission in Nairobi welcomed it.
Britain pleased with the judgment
"I have told the British government that the best thing for them to have done is to tell Kenyans that this minister or member of parliament committed this specific corrupt deed while
in the United Kingdom, so that I can be punished here," he said.
A spokesperson for the British high commission said that the British government was pleased with the judgment.
"We welcome the fact that the judge rejected the argument that the home secretary had acted irrationally in preventing Murungaru from transiting the UK, this is a defeat to Murungaru on a key aspect of his case," he said.