South Australian Senator Lucy Gichuhi has released a series of "definitive statements" to clear up doubts she may not have properly relinquished her Kenyan citizenship.
In one of them, a Kenyan constitutional law expert, Professor Yash Pal Ghai, said Ms Gichuhi became an Australian national in 2001 and in doing so gave up her Kenyan citizenship.
"Under both the independence constitution and the 1969 constitution, a Kenyan who acquired a foreign citizenship automatically lost her Kenyan citizenship," Mr Ghai said.
Changes to the Kenyan constitution in 2010 allowed for dual citizenship, but, a 2017 statement released by Kenyan High Commissioner Isaiya Kabira confirmed Ms Gichuhi had not applied and was therefore not recognised.
It was earlier reported advice from University of Nairobi professor Edwin Abuya said Senator Gichuhi should have written to Kenya's nationality affairs minister to renounce her Kenyan citizenship.
Labor frontbencher Brendan O'Connor said the senator's position was a problem for the government, but Minister Craig Laundy backed his newly-minted Liberal colleague.
"I take her at her word. It's there, it's public. I know there is a dissenting view, however, there's strong legal advice that supports her," he told Sky News on Sunday.
Asked if she should be referred to the High Court, he said: "Not when all the information's now out in the public domain".
