The Kenyan government on Monday denied entry to three senior Somalia government officials at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi for lacking visas.
The Kenyan officials’ team, including Deputy Minister of Water and Energy Osman Libah and legislators Ilyas Ali Hassan and Zamzam Dahir, was part of a government delegation scheduled to attend the launch of a European Union-sponsored cross-border conflict management program on Tuesday.
According to reports, immigration officials at JKIA told them they should have obtained visas at the Kenyan embassy in Mogadishu before proceeding. All the three were holding diplomatic passports and under a bilateral arrangement, diplomatic passport holders are granted entry visas at ports of entry.
The delegation landed back in Mogadishu on Tuesday morning after taking off from JKIA where they spent the night. Notably, some of their colleagues traveling on foreign passports were allowed in.
“The Kenyan authorities at the airport informed these guys that such plan has changed, and now everyone has to obtain a visa from Kenya’s Mission in Mogadishu,” a senior Somali official in the delegation, but who traveled on a foreign passport, told the Nation. “The officials learned this change upon arrival as there was no prior communication regarding this.”
The new development follows the Kenyan government’s suspension of all direct flights from Somali’s capital Mogadishu to Nairobi over security concerns. The flights have been suspended and the planes will now first have to land in Wajir for security checks before proceeding to Nairobi.
Captain Gilbert Kibe, the Director General of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, said the decision was purely for security reasons. He noted that the suspension will last until August 9.
The Kenyan government continues to face diplomatic challenges with Somalia over disputed oil blocks. Kenya even recalled her ambassador to Somalia and expelled Somalia’s ambassador to Kenya.
