On June 24, 2025, the High Court of Kenya at Nairobi’s Milimani Law Courts, under Justice Chacha Mwita, delivered a judgment in a petition filed by Kingsley Kanu on behalf of his brother, Nnamdi Kanu, a British citizen and leader of a Biafra self-determination group. The court found that Kanu’s abduction, detention, and forcible removal from Kenya in June 2021 violated his constitutional rights.
The court established that Kanu, who entered Kenya legally on May 12, 2021, via an East African Tourist Visa, was abducted on June 19, 2021, at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Security agents, allegedly from Nigeria, detained him for eight days in Nairobi, subjecting him to torture, chaining, and denial of food, water, and medical care. Subsequently, Kanu was forcibly taken to Nigeria without an extradition order, breaching Kenyan and international legal standards.
Justice Mwita rejected the respondents’ claims, including those from the Attorney General and security officials, that they were unaware of Kanu’s abduction or removal. The court reasoned that such an operation at a high-security location like JKIA could not occur without the knowledge or complicity of Kenyan authorities. Consequently, the government was held liable for failing to protect Kanu’s rights to personal security and freedom of movement, as guaranteed by Kenya’s Constitution.
The judgment declared Kanu’s abduction, incommunicado detention, and mistreatment as violations of his fundamental rights. The court awarded him KShs. 10,000,000 in general damages, to be paid by the Attorney General on behalf of the Kenyan government, as compensation for these breaches. Additionally, the court ordered the Attorney General to cover the petition’s costs with interest. See more HERE
Leave a Reply