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Speaker:

Dr Miguna Miguna is a Kenyan intellectual, lawyer and strong critic of the Jubilee government in Kenya. From 2009 to 2011 he served as Senior Adviser to Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Coalition Affairs. In 2018 he was arrested for his participation in the popular swearing-in of Raila Odinga. His Kenyan passport was withdrawn and he was required to leave for Canada. Recently, a Kenyan High Court has ordered the reinstatement of his passport.

Background:

Following Kenya’s 8 August 2017 general elections, the electoral commission declared incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta the winner with 51.17 percent of the votes. On 1 September 2017, however, the Supreme Court declared invalid the results of the presidential election, citing irregularities. The Court ordered a re-run to be held within 60 days. The opposition coalition, led by Raila Odinga, refused to participate in the re-run, however, arguing that insufficient reform of the electoral commission meant there could be no confidence in the credibility of the process. The turnout for the repeat election was estimated at under 34 percent of registered voters, with the vote overwhelmingly going to Uhuru Kenyatta. On 30 January 2018, in a controversial ceremony, Raila Odinga was sworn in as the so-called “People’s President”.

Respondent:

Dr Dominic Burbidge is a Postdoctoral Research Officer in the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford. He is author of the book The Shadow of Kenyan Democracy, and has written numerous articles on Kenyan politics and the 2010 constitution.

A drinks reception will follow the talk.