Friday August 7, 2026
Somalia is tightening control over the travel documents used by its top officials after a diplomatic dispute with Kenya exposed questions over their citizenship and passports. / Reuters
Mogadishu (AX) — Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre has ordered cabinet ministers and senior government officials to use Somali passports exclusively when traveling on official government business.
Barre issued the directive at Tuesday’s weekly Cabinet meeting in Mogadishu, shortly after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told senior officials with foreign passports to surrender them or give up their government posts.
“Ministers and senior government officials must travel using the Federal Government of Somalia passport to uphold the dignity, prestige and reputation of the Somali state,” Barre told the Cabinet.
The move follows a diplomatic dispute with Kenya, where two senior Somali officials were refused entry at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in recent months because of questions about the travel documents they presented.
Those incidents led Somalia’s leadership to reinforce restrictions on the use of foreign citizenship and passports by senior officials.
Last week, President Hassan Sheikh directed ministers and other high-ranking government officials holding Kenyan passports to hand them over or resign. The policy is designed to ensure that senior officeholders represent Somalia exclusively through the country’s national identity while serving in public office.
The issue drew additional attention after Deputy Prime Minister Jibril Abdirashid Haji said he had voluntarily returned his Kenyan passport. He described the decision as an administrative step intended to promote transparency and prevent questions about his eligibility to hold office. Haji said he had obtained the passport lawfully and that Kenyan authorities had not asked him to return it.
At Thursday’s meeting, the Cabinet also examined progress on Somalia’s third-generation polycarbonate electronic passport. The government says the document will strengthen travel-document security, limit forgery and modernize passport services.
Officials have framed the passport rollout as part of wider reforms to reinforce state institutions, improve public services and raise Somalia’s standing internationally.
