MOGADISHU, Oct 8 (Horn Life) – Kenya has revoked the passports of two senior Somali officials, including the Federal Government’s second deputy prime minister and the deputy fisheries minister, sources close to Villa Somalia said on Wednesday, in a move that risks escalating bilateral strains amid a deepening political crisis in Somalia’s southern Jubaland region.
Ali Ifiye Ali, the Deputy Minister of Fisheries, and Jibril Abdirashid Haji, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, who hold dual Somali-Kenyan citizenship, had their documents seized in recent days, according to reports. The reason for the revocation remains unclear, though the two men were reportedly in possession of two passports each.
The development comes as Mogadishu presses ahead with a high-stakes power struggle against Jubaland’s semi-autonomous administration, led by President Ahmed Madobe, whose re-election last year the federal government deems unconstitutional.
Sources near the Presidential Palace, indicated the officials were part of a delegation appointed by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre to provide advisory input on the deteriorating political situation in Jubaland.
The committee’s formation followed the collapse of bilateral talks between Mogadishu and Kismayo, Jubaland’s administrative capital, earlier this year, which failed to resolve disputes over legitimacy, resource control and electoral processes.
The passport revocations could signal Nairobi’s frustration with Somalia’s internal maneuvers, given Kenya’s historical role as a mediator in Jubaland affairs and its support for Madobe as a bulwark against al Shabaab militants. Bilateral relations have been tested by the ongoing standoff, with federal forces recently advancing in Jubaland’s Gedo region, seizing key border towns like Balad Hawo from Madobe-aligned militias.
In a related escalation, sources reported that Villa Somalia is planning to detach Gedo from Jubaland and declare a new federal-aligned administration there, tentatively named “Jubaland,” which would fall directly under Mogadishu’s authority.
The move aims to sideline Madobe’s Kismayo-based government and enforce constitutional compliance, but analysts warn it could fragment southern Somalia further and divert resources from the fight against al Shabaab.
A separate proposal under consideration by Mohamud and his allies envisions appointing an interim leader for Jubaland, with operations based in parts of Gedo, to oversee transitional governance until nationwide elections slated for 2026. Consultations with Gedo clan elders and federal loyalists are reportedly underway in Garbahaarey, the region’s capital, where Mogadishu already controls several districts.
Horn Life
