A Kenyan high court has summoned the attorney general to explain why multiple court orders allowing for the return of deported lawyer and opposition figure Miguna Miguna have not been acted upon.

The court ordered Attorney General Paul Kariuki, or a senior representative from his office, to appear before it on Monday to find out why the immigration department had failed to comply.

Mr Miguna was deported to Canada, where he is a citizen, nearly two years ago. His Kenyan passport was taken away and perforated when he was first deported in February 2018.

His attempt to enter the country a month later resulted in his second deportation after dramatic scenes at the main international airport in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

This week, he was scheduled to return to the country and had obtained a court order barring the government from stopping his entry.

The ministry of interior had said it would "facilitate" his re-entry, but two airlines in Europe stopped him from flying home this week as "red alerts" had been issued by the Kenyan government preventing him from boarding.