Kenya ‘denies’ entry to another senior Somali official as passport dispute strains ties

Andrew Wasike

Diplomatic tensions between Kenya and Somalia have deepened after Kenyan authorities allegedly denied entry to another senior Somali government official on Monday, days after deporting the country’s second deputy prime minister over a passport dispute.

Somalia’s state minister at the presidency, Abshir Bukhaari, is said to have turned away upon arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on Monday and placed on a return flight to Mogadishu after Kenyan immigration officials questioned a Kenyan passport he was allegedly carrying. Neither government has officially commented on the incident.

The deportation came less than a month after Somalia’s Second Deputy Prime Minister Jibril Abdirashid Haji was denied entry into Kenya over allegations that he had fraudulently obtained a Kenyan passport. Kenyan authorities said at the time that Haji, who arrived using a Somali diplomatic passport and a valid visa, declined to surrender the Kenyan passport when questioned and was returned to Mogadishu.

The latest incident has escalated the dispute into a diplomatic row, with Somali media reporting that the Foreign Ministry summoned Kenya’s ambassador in Mogadishu to seek an explanation over the treatment of its senior officials. Kenyan authorities have not publicly confirmed the meeting.

The back-to-back incidents raised questions over the alleged acquisition of Kenyan travel documents by senior Somali officials, with Kenyan authorities investigating possible irregularities in the issuance of passports.

Relations between Kenya and Somalia have generally improved in recent years following earlier diplomatic disagreements over maritime boundaries and regional security. The two neighboring countries cooperate closely in efforts to combat the al-Shabaab militant group, while Kenya hosts a large Somali diaspora and remains one of Somalia’s key trading partners.