Ruto blames Somalia instability for failed border reopening
“We were moving very well until there was a huge disagreement between the government in Mogadishu and the states,” Ruto said in the interview aired on Wednesday.
By JEREMIAH WAKAYAThursday May 14, 2026
Ruto said Kenya had made significant progress toward reopening the frontier before clashes erupted between Somalia’s Federal Government and regional state forces near the Kenyan border/PCS/FILE
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President William Ruto has said the long-promised reopening of the Kenya-Somalia border collapsed because renewed violence and political turmoil in Somalia upended the plan.
In an interview with France 24 on the sidelines of the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Ruto said Kenya had been moving steadily toward reopening the frontier until fighting broke out between Somalia’s federal authorities and regional state forces close to the border.
“We were moving very well until there was a huge disagreement between the government in Mogadishu and the states,” Ruto said in the interview aired on Wednesday.
The President said clashes between the Somali National Army and Jubaland forces near the border sharply deteriorated the security environment, leaving Kenya with no choice but to step in and help calm the situation.
“In fact, at that point, some of the Somali National Army were actually pushed into Kenya,” he disclosed.
“We had to support members of the Somali National Army, fly them, assist them, so that we could pacify and reduce the war.”
Ruto said conditions initially began to improve, but the progress was later undone by a fresh wave of instability and uncertainty in Somalia.
“That situation was getting better, but unfortunately, it took a turn, got worse,” he stated.
He also pointed to Somalia’s political transition as another stumbling block, citing uncertainty over the expiration of parliamentary and presidential terms.
“Today, we have even a much more complicated situation because the term of the parliament there expired. The term of the president, I think, is expiring,” he said.
Regional effort
Ruto said Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti have been trying to mediate between Somalia’s federal government and its regional administrations, though he acknowledged that the diplomacy has not yet produced a breakthrough.
“We have tried to broker an engagement between the states and the government in Somalia. We have not been very successful,” he explained.
The President confirmed that the reopening plan is on hold for now.
“So the border for the time being is not open,” he said.
In February, Ruto had said the Kenya-Somalia border would be reopened in April, ending a closure that has remained in place since 2011 over security fears linked to Al-Shabaab.
During a visit to Mandera at the time, he said sufficient security officers would be stationed along the frontier to ensure the reopening did not compromise safety.
The government had intended to reopen border posts in Mandera and Garissa counties in order to boost cross-border trade and restore the free movement of traders between the two countries.
Earlier plans to reopen the border in phases in 2023 were shelved after a spike in Al-Shabaab attacks, and the government later kept the closure in place as security operations continued inside Somalia.
Kenya partially reopened the border earlier this year to allow miraa exports ahead of the anticipated full reopening, which has now stalled.
Ruto’s France24 interview also touched on conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the President saying Kenya would continue to play a mediation role in efforts to stabilize the region.
