MOGADISHU, Somalia — Kenya appears to have stepped up diplomatic pressure on Somalia after twice denying entry to senior Somali government officials at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in recent weeks and sending them back to Mogadishu.
On June 28, Kenyan authorities turned away Somalia’s Second Deputy Prime Minister, Jibril Abdirashid Haji, upon his arrival in Nairobi, according to media reports. Nearly a month later, on July 26, State Minister at the Presidency Abshir Bukhaari was also denied entry and deported to Mogadishu, Kenyan media reported.
The Somali federal government has not publicly commented on either incident.
The developments come at a time of growing strain in relations between Mogadishu and Nairobi. Kenyan President William Ruto recently said that the mandates of Somalia’s president and parliament had expired, arguing that the country had entered “a period of uncertainty and a constitutional vacuum.”
Ruto’s remarks drew attention as Somalia continues to face political disputes over its transitional arrangements and electoral process.
While the Somali government has yet to respond to either the deportations or Ruto’s comments, the back-to-back incidents have fueled speculation that Kenya is increasing diplomatic pressure on Mogadishu amid broader political tensions between the two neighbors.
Neither Kenyan authorities nor Somalia’s government have provided official explanations for the decisions to deny entry to the two officials.
