Mwende Mwinzi Slaps MPs With Lawsuit

Kenya's ambassador-nominee to South Korea, Mwende Mwinzi, on Wednesday, September 18, moved to court in a bid to stop Parliament from forcing her to give up her US citizenship.

Despite being approved for her new post, the National Assembly had stipulated that she renounces her American citizenship.

On her part, Mwinzi maintained that forcing her to do so would be a blatant violation of her rights, the Daily Nation reported.

“My US citizenship was acquired by birth and as such, my citizenship or the process of opting in was a consequence of circumstances out of my control,” read an excerpt of her affidavit.

Mwende Mwinzi during presidential campaigns dubbed 'Mbele iko sawa' in Murang'a on June 8, 2017. President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed her to serve as Kenya's ambassador to South Korea

President Uhuru Kenyatta nominated Mwinzi on May 2, to serve as Kenya's ambassador to the Asian nation, with the National Assembly approving his choice at the time without any complaints.

However, they, later on, moved to have her relinquish her US citizenship, citing Section 31(2) of the Leadership and Integrity Act, which asks State officers with dual nationality to first renounce their foreign passports before taking the jobs.

"There are State officers such as judges and even MPs who are serving as such despite being holders of dual citizenship, it is therefore unfair to single out the petitioner herein and treat her unfairly in blatant violation of her constitutional right to equality and freedom from discrimination,” her lawyers argued.

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma and Attorney-General Kihara Kariuki were listed as respondents in her petition.

The lawsuit is expected to have significant implications on the thousands of Kenyans abroad, and how they'd be able to take up state jobs in the future.

In addition, Mwinzi's lawsuit could be instrumental in determining whether Parliament is supposed to stop at approving or disapproving candidates.

If ruled in their favour, the lawmakers could move to include conditional approvals for future nominees.

President Uhuru Kenyatta pictured at a past event. He appointed Ms Mwende Mwinzi to serve as Kenya's ambassador to South Korea on May 2