When a video of a Dutch national assaulting police officers in Diani went viral, Kenyans were rightly outraged. The man, identified as Elwin Ter Horst, had reportedly assaulted his Kenyan girlfriend, then turned on police officers who tried to arrest him, hurling insults, damaging property, and even blowing mucus on them.  Within hours, social media had rendered its verdict: Pack his  bags! 

Mr. Ter Horst is currently detained for 14 days pending investigations into allegations of drug possession, assault, malicious damage, and creating disturbance. Police have also indicated that his three-month visa expired, which raises questions about whether he’s even lawfully in the country. If true, that already places him squarely within deportable territory.

Let’s give this tea a legal stir. 

Under Section 43 of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, the Cabinet Secretary for Interior may order the removal of a person who is unlawfully present in Kenya. The Act also allows for the deportation of foreign persons whose presence in Kenya is deemed undesirable on grounds such as involvement in crime, threat to public order or national security, or even conduct that offends public morality. Separately, the Penal Code provides that where a non-citizen is convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment for up to twelve months, the court may order that they be removed from Kenya, either immediately or upon completing their sentence. For more serious offences attracting a sentence of more than twelve months, the court may recommend deportation to the Cabinet Secretary, who then decides whether to issue an order.

In Mr. Ter Horst’s case, all indicators point to grounds strong enough to justify deportation. His alleged offences go beyond mere bad behaviour — they cut to the core of what the law considers undesirable conduct. Assaulting citizens, attacking police officers, and damaging property are not just criminal acts; they are a direct affront to public order and the authority of the State. When a foreign national displays such disregard for law enforcement, the case for their continued stay in the country becomes legally and morally untenable.

If it turns out his visa expired, then he is already halfway to the airport . And even if not, his drunken theatrics at a police station are more than enough for the State to brand him undesirable. This is not about public outrage anymore; it’s about principle. Hospitality ends where hooliganism begins. The Dutchman’s stay now hangs by a thread, and all signs point in one direction: a one-way ticket home.