Somalia calls in Kenyan ambassador after minister reportedly blocked at airport
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s federal government has reportedly called in Kenya’s ambassador in Mogadishu following claims that State Minister at the Presidency Abshir Bukhaari was refused entry to Kenya and returned to the Somali capital.
Reports said Kenyan immigration officers raised questions about a Kenyan passport Bukhaari was allegedly carrying at the time.
The episode is likely to add fresh pressure to relations between the neighbouring states, whose political ties have been tested by a series of diplomatic disputes in recent months.
International media outlets, including Germany’s DW, reported that Bukhaari was stopped at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi before authorities ordered him back to Mogadishu. Kenyan officials have not publicly given a reason for the reported decision.
The case comes less than a month after Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister Jibril Abdirashid Haji was also reportedly barred from entering Kenya over allegations that he had illegally obtained a Kenyan passport.
Officials in both Mogadishu and Nairobi have not issued formal statements on the reports that Bukhaari was denied entry or that Kenya’s ambassador was summoned to answer questions over the matter.
If verified, the incident would be the second reported case in under a month involving a senior Somali official being turned away from Kenya, a development that could further sour relations between the two East African neighbours.
AXADLETM
