NASA Leaders Blocked from Flying Out of the Country, Spend the Night at JKIA

National Super Alliance (Nasa) leaders were on Monday night forced to spend the night at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) as they were blocked from travelling out of the country.

Siaya Senator James Orengo and billionaire businessman Jimmy Wanjigi were barred by immigration officials from jetting to Zimbabwe, where they were set to attend the funeral of the country’s opposition icon Morgan Tsvangirai.

Orengo said the officials, acting on orders from the Immigration Director, stopped them from boarding a flight to Harare, which left JKIA at around 9.20pm Monday. This was despite a court order on Monday asking the Immigration authorities to reinstate passports of seven opposition leaders, which it had suspended.

"We feel we have not only been inconvenienced, but this is humiliating and inhuman. And somebody must pay for it," Orengo, adding that they would sue Dr Kihalangwa and the immigration officials who confiscated the passport.

Wanjigi said: "We are strong. We are not changing. We are committed to this cause. It's a joyous journey.  And there is light, and a lot of light, ahead".

Nasa chief Raila Odinga had on Monday afternoon left the country for Zimbabwe to attend Tsvangirai’s burial.

However, in a statement to the media on Tuesday morning, Director of Immigration Services Gordon Kihalangwa said the department had not been served with the court order that suspended the withdrawal of passports issued to the two leaders.

“When the two arrived at JKIA, they were requested to avail the copies of the said court orders but they had none. Instead they showed some writings in their phones purporting to be the court orders. The two could not be allowed to proceed with their journey until copies of the said orders were availed,” read the statement.

The two were, however, cleared to travel on Tuesday morning after their lawyer Willis Otieno served the court order to the Immigration department.