Implications of James Dak's 2016 deportation to South Sudan by the Kenyatta government in violation of international refugee law

This article discusses James Gatdet Dak's 2016 deportation from Kenya to South Sudan where he was imprisoned for two years for several offences he allegedly had committed in relation to the civil war in that country. It provides an understanding of the circumstances that led to deportation and violation of Dak's right to refugee protection. The article makes three principal arguments. First, the Kenyatta government carried out the deportation in violation of international and regional refugee laws. Particularly, the Kenyatta government violated the principle of non-refoulement, which is now considered to have become a peremptory norm of international law from which no derogation is permitted. Second, Dak had suffered persecution at the hands of South Sudan's authorities because of his political opinion. Third, the injustice Dak had suffered entitles him to a remedy from the Kenyan government, which he could potentially pursue through the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights' complaint process. Although a considerable period has elapsed, the African Commission's flexible approach to the relevant admissibility criterion should be able to accommodate his complaint.