NAIROBI, Kenya – A fresh diplomatic dispute may be emerging between Kenya and Somalia after Somalia’s State Minister at the Presidency, Abshir Bukhaari, was reportedly denied entry into Kenya over questions surrounding a Kenyan passport he was allegedly using to travel.
According to multiple media reports, the senior Somali official was turned away by Kenyan immigration officers upon arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Sunday before being placed on a return flight to Mogadishu.
The exact circumstances surrounding the passport have not been officially disclosed, and neither the Kenyan nor the Somali government had issued a formal statement on the reported incident by the time of publication.
The reported deportation has triggered diplomatic concern, with Somali media indicating that Mogadishu has summoned Kenya’s ambassador for talks on Monday, July 27, to seek clarification over the reported denial of entry to several Somali federal officials.
However, the reported summons had not been independently verified at the time of publication.
The latest incident comes just weeks after Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister Jibril Abdirashid Haji was also reportedly denied entry into Kenya under similar circumstances.
Haji reportedly arrived at JKIA aboard a Saacid Airlines flight from Mogadishu carrying a valid Somali diplomatic passport and a Kenyan visa.
Immigration officials are said to have questioned him over allegations that he possessed a fraudulently acquired Kenyan passport.
Sources familiar with the matter alleged that the deputy prime minister acknowledged having a Kenyan passport but declined to surrender it, maintaining that the issue should instead be resolved through the courts.
He was subsequently held at the airport’s VIP lounge while investigations continued before later being escorted onto a Daallo Airlines flight back to Mogadishu, effectively denying him entry into Kenya.
According to a police report cited by local media, Haji departed Kenya on June 25, 2026, without further incident as investigations into the alleged acquisition of the Kenyan passport continued.
The two back-to-back incidents involving senior Somali government officials are likely to draw increased attention to immigration procedures and diplomatic relations between Nairobi and Mogadishu, although both governments are yet to publicly comment on the latest developments.
