NAIROBI, Kenya – National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director-General Noordin Haji on Monday confirmed that fighters from Ethiopia’s Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) are occupying parts of Kenyan territory—an admission that signals a serious escalation in Kenya’s border security crisis.
“In Ethiopia, the Oromo Liberation Army is occupying our territory—and we are forced to deal with them,” Haji told the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations during an unusually candid session.
The revelation directly contradicts earlier official positions that framed OLA’s presence in Kenya as sporadic “infiltrations” rather than a sustained territorial threat.
From Infiltration to Occupation
Haji’s testimony marks a shift in tone, with the intelligence chief openly acknowledging what has long been whispered in security circles but dismissed in public: that Kenya’s porous northern frontier has become a zone of foreign militant entrenchment.
His statement comes amid ongoing clashes between Kenyan security forces and suspected OLA fighters in Moyale, a volatile town near the Ethiopia-Kenya border.
Government forces have been engaged in gunfights with militants who are also being pursued by the Ethiopian military.
The security operation, dubbed Operation Ondoa Jangili, has focused on Isiolo and Marsabit counties, where OLA-linked violence has spiked in recent months.
Multiple Border Flashpoints
Haji also warned MPs that Kenya is under mounting pressure from cross-border militia activity on nearly all its frontiers.
He cited armed Karamojong raiders from Uganda and the growing threat of small arms smuggled in from South Sudan.
“Kenya is facing threats from all corners,” he said—adding only Tanzania to the list of neighbors not currently posing a direct security challenge.
His assessment paints a grim picture of Kenya’s northern frontier as a security vacuum increasingly exploited by foreign militias and criminal networks.
Kenya faces growing security risks from nearly all its neighbors, as outdated military equipment and regional instability weaken national security, warns the country’s top intelligence chief. ynews.digital/top-stories/ha…
OLA’s Growing Footprint
The OLA, an armed group operating from Ethiopia’s restive Oromia region, is designated as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government.
It has been linked to kidnappings, targeted assassinations, and violent cross-border raids.
Last year, OLA fighters were allegedly involved in the abduction of two South Korean nationals, who were later transferred to Somalia’s Al-Shabaab—raising alarms over potential operational links between militant groups across the Horn of Africa.
Kenya and Ethiopia have since ramped up bilateral intelligence and counterterrorism efforts.
Haji met with his Ethiopian counterpart in Addis Ababa last year, where both sides pledged closer coordination in tackling the OLA threat.
OLA Denies Presence, Accuses Kenya of Overreach
In a statement last week, the OLA denied it was operating inside Kenya and instead accused both Nairobi and Addis Ababa of targeting civilians under the guise of counterinsurgency.
“Recently, the Abiy regime has also extended its violent campaign beyond Ethiopia’s border, directly targeting unarmed civilians in northern Kenya under the pretext of pursuing OLA,” the group claimed.
The Kenyan government has yet to respond to the accusations.
However, Haji’s on-the-record comments suggest that Kenya’s national security establishment views the OLA’s presence not only as credible but as a direct violation of its sovereignty.
