Senetor-elect Lucy Gichuhi has registered another victory after the High Court rejected Labor’s push to challenge her eligibility based on concerns about her citizenship.
The High Court of Australia ruled this morning that Ms Gichuhi is free to replace Mr Bod Day as South Australian Senator in the Federal Parliament.
Labor’s acting shadow attorney-general Katy Gallagher had argued that there were legitimate questions about her eligibility that needed to be answered.
But today the full bench of the High Court rejected a push by lawyers acting for for Labor’s Anne McEwen, on the basis that she still retains her Kenyan citizenship.
Senator Gichuhi, a practicing lawyer, has maintained for quite some time that Kenyan law stated that “a Kenyan’s citizenship was automatically withdrawn once a person was over 21 and had taken up citizenship in another country”.
Kenya’s high Commissioner to Australia also previously stated that Senatori Gichuhi automatically lost her Kenyan Citizenship when she because Australian Citizen.
Ms Gichuhi migrated to Australia in 1999 and said she became an Australian citizen in 2001 and never held dual citizenship.
Australia’s constitution precludes anyone with dual citizenship from being in the parliament.
