Ruto explains why Kenya-Somalia border remains closed after April reopening promise

by Frankline Oduor Friday May 15, 2026

President William Ruto has laid out the reasons the Kenya-Somalia border remains sealed 15 years after it was first shut, even after he said earlier this year that reopening would begin in April.

In an interview with France 24 on the sidelines of the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Ruto said the plan was thrown off course by a fresh wave of instability inside Somalia.

He said Kenya had initially made headway with the Somali federal government, but the process unraveled as tensions deepened between Mogadishu and regional states.

“We were moving very well until there was a huge disagreement between the government in Mogadishu and the states,” Ruto said, pointing to growing clashes involving Somali National Army (SNA) forces and regional militias.

He singled out fighting involving Jubaland security forces near the border, saying the violence complicated Kenya’s security calculations.

“In fact, at that time, some of the Somali National Army were pushed into Kenya, and that complicated the situation.  We had to support members of the SNA by assisting them so that we could pacify the war,” he added.

Ruto said the turmoil made reopening the frontier impossible and warned that Somalia’s ongoing political transition has only added to the uncertainty.

“The term of Parliament there expired, and the President is also expiring. Nobody knows where that situation is going. So the border for the time being is not open,” he said.

The President also said Kenya has been working with regional partners, including Ethiopia and Djibouti, in an effort to help stabilize Somalia, though those efforts have so far delivered limited results.

His comments follow an announcement in February that the border would reopen in April, a move that was expected to revive trade and ease movement between the two countries under strict security arrangements.

But the Mandera border area has remained volatile, with residents repeatedly reporting insecurity tied to cross-border armed groups and alleged Jubaland forces operating close to Kenyan territory.

In September last year and again this week, Mandera residents took to the streets to protest what they described as harassment by foreign forces, saying the presence of armed men was disrupting schools, business and everyday safety.

Those complaints have been sharpened by a string of deadly attacks in Mandera, including an ambush on a public service vehicle that left several people dead and others injured, deepening fears over insecurity spilling across the border.

The Kenya-Somalia border was closed in October 2011 after repeated Al-Shabaab attacks, and despite multiple efforts to restore full movement over the years, security concerns have continued to stall any lasting reopening.