Nairobi: Over 10k Members Of Luo Community File Petition To Leave Kenya, Form Their Own Country

• The over 10,000 members of the Luo community want the court to compel the government to urgently call for a referendum to enable them to leave Kenya
• Ojijo Ogillo Mark Parscal wants the court to certify the application as urgent in a bid to expedite what he describes as the community’s quest to form its state
• The Luo elders further seek orders barring the Kenyan government from interfering with their plans

Nairobi - A section of the Luo community has filed a case at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi seeking to leave Kenya and form their own country, citing discrimination from the government.

The over 10,000 members of the community want the court to compel the government to call for a referendum to enable the Luo to leave Kenya and form their state.

"Over 103 years since the declaration of Kenya as a colony by the colonialists in 1920, and up to 60 years after independence, Luos have consistently been profiled, hated, abused, threatened, tortured, and harassed,” the court documents read in part.

Why petitioners want a referendum

K24 Digital reported that the petitioners from the Luo community, led by Ojijo Ogillo Mark Parscal, want the court to issue orders compelling the government through Attorney General Justin Muturi to hold a referendum to enable Luos to leave Kenya.

“That the court orders the respondent (the Attorney General) to cause a referendum to be held for Luos to leave the state of Kenya and become their own state,” one of the orders they seek reads.

Ojijo wants the court to certify the application as urgent to expedite what he describes as the community’s quest to form its state.

"Unless the matter is addressed urgently, the ethnic profiling, discrimination, lack of development, and harassment, shall continue and these shall prejudice, harm and limit the applicant's submission to self-determination," the applicants say.

They further sought orders barring the state from interfering with their plans to practice self-determination activities.

Kenya recognises Pemba community

In a related story, TUKO.co.ke reported that Karisa Maitha Grounds in Kilifi grounds roared to life when members of the Pemba community lined up to receive their identification documents, including birth certificates and identity cards.

On Friday, July 28, over 9000 people who were vetted and registered were issued with vital documents following Kenya’s decision to end statelessness for the Pemba people.

During Kenya's 59th Jamhuri Day national celebrations on 12 December 2022, President William Ruto announced that his ruling Kenya Kwanza administration will initiate modalities to recognise the Pemba people as citizens of Kenya.