Devani moves to court after government blocks his exit from the country

The government has issued a stop order against a Kenyan businessman and former director of Triton Petroleum Limited, Yagnesh Mohanlal Devani.

For this, Devani has moved to court, claiming that he has been blocked from leaving the country.

The businessman sued the Director General of Immigration, saying that he had no pending criminal cases in court and should therefore be allowed to fly out.

His lawyer, Isaac Rene, told the court that Devani had four cases relating to the infamous Triton oil saga.

He explained that Devani was acquitted in three cases, while the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) withdrew the fourth case.

 Rene said that on April 1 this year, Devani was stopped from travelling out of the country while at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) over an alleged stop order issued by the immigration office.

“The Petitioner is a Kenyan Citizen, holder of a Kenyan Passport and enjoys the right to freedom of movement pursuant to Article 39 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. Article 39 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 provides that every person has the right to freedom of movement and the right to leave Kenya and the right to enter, remain and reside anywhere in Kenya,” argued Rene.

 According to the lawyer, the government agency did not explain why Devani was being blocked from leaving. At the same time, he said that there was no indication that the government or any of its organs was interested in his staying in the country.

After the Sh7.6 billion scandal in 2008, Devani spent time in the United Kingdom fighting extradition.

 Kenya made an extradition request in 2011 and followed up two years later.

He challenged the two extraditions before the magistrates’ court in the UK but lost on September 3, 2014.

He then appealed to the High Court, which again dismissed his case on December 11, 2015.

 Devani’s main contention was the Kenyan prison conditions. He argued that upon his return, he would be remanded in deplorable conditions.

However, an assurance by the Director of Public Prosecution and the Home Office that he would be detained at Kamiti and have a cell for himself convinced the judges that the prison met the European Convention on Human Rights.

Two months after the case was dismissed, on February 16, 2016, he filed an asylum application, which was declined by the Secretary of State.

He appealed the decision to the first-tier division, claiming that the same assurances were given to Gilbert Deya, but upon extradition, the pastor allegedly got the shorter end of the promised stick.

His lawyer, Nicholas Chapman, produced online stories that claimed Deya was allegedly incarcerated in a ‘filthy dungeon’ with 11 convicts at Kamiti. They also claimed that the man of the cloth who was wanted by the government for the ‘miracle babies’ saga was allegedly made to rub shoulders with Kenya’s ‘hardcore criminals.’

The London court was also told that the pastor allegedly had no access to a toilet and was allegedly made to relieve himself on a bucket.  Devani banked on Deya to argue that the government was acting in bad faith.

However, the UK court found that despite relying on the articles, there was no evidence to prove the allegations, as the articles had limited evidential value.

Justices Nichola Davies, Edward Underhill and Stephen Males unanimously dismissed the case.

He was extradited after 15 years, in 2024.

Back to his Kenyan case, Devan claimed there was no reason to have a stop order or restrict his movement. “The impugned actions by the Respondent’s officers are unconstitutional insofar as the same violate my right to freedom of movement guaranteed by Article 39 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, for which I am entitled to an award of damages as sought in the petition,” said Devani in his supporting affidavit.

Devani wants the court to order the immigration office to remove the stop order. At the same time, he is seeking an order barring the agency’s officers from interfering with his travel, harassing or detaining him. From the documents he has supplied in court, the stop order was received by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) at JKIA at 10.30 pm, with the action indicated as arrest.