I am now truly Kenyan, Sheikh Balala says after victory
What you need to know:
- Sheikh Balala was stripped off his citizenship by the government in 1994 when he had travelled to Germany.
- In 1992 he was arrested and charged with treason but was later acquitted.
As he walked out of the High Court after a declaration had been made that the state had violated his rights, Mr Khalid Balala popularly known as Sheikh Balala was a happy man.
Sheikh Balala, 60, was happy, not because of the Sh6 million awarded to him in damages for the violation of his rights, but because justice had been served.
The once fiery street preacher and leader of the unregistered Islamic Party of Kenya and whose politically charged ideologies rattled the Kanu government in the 90s described the court’s decision as restoration of his constitutional rights as a Kenyan.
Sheikh Balala - who is now a pale shadow of his former self - said he harboured no ill feelings towards the government for the violations of his rights.
“The most important thing is restoration of my constitutional rights as a Kenyan, if the (court’s) decision was not made many people would have suffered like me,” he said.
CITIZENSHIP
Sheikh Balala, whose clamour to have his party registered led to bloody confrontations between his supporters and the police, described Justice Eric Ogola’s decision as the crowning achievement of his 20-year struggle. He said that he only wants to see a better Kenya.
Sheikh Balala was stripped off his citizenship by the government in 1994 when he had travelled to Germany for what he describes as a business trip and upon visiting the Kenyan embassy in Bonn, his passport was confiscated.
In 1992 he was arrested and charged with treason but was later acquitted and, between 1992 and 1997, he was charged on several occasions with incitement but they were later dismissed.
RIGHTS VIOLATED
Sheikh Balala sued the State, seeking a declaration that he is entitled to full protection from discrimination and that his rights had been violated.
He also sought for an official apology from the Government.
On Monday, Justice Ogola declared that the State had violated Sheikh Balala’s constitutional rights following the confiscation of his passport and his forced stay in Germany.
Justice Ogola noted that being forced to stay in a foreign country away from family and friends for a period of four years may not be physical torture, however the psychological torture endured is not any less painful.
The judge however refused to acquiesce to the amount he had demanded as compensation.
Sheikh Balala had sought to be granted Sh100 million in damages based on the fact that he had been stranded in Germany for four years but the court noted that the amount was ‘too much’.
