Three Somali officials denied entry into Kenya at JKIA

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Gamal Hassan (Planning Minister), Abdi Said (President Farmaajo’s National advisor) and Fawziya Abikar (Health Minister) were reportedly allowed access as the last two hold European passports and Gamal a Canadian passport. Reports show the Somali ministers and other officials vowed not to attend the event without the deputy ministers. At the airport, the affected officials were asked to go back to Mogadishu and pass through the Kenyan embassy there for visa approval before coming to Nairobi. “They know the rules and they have not changed,” said an official at the airport who asked not to be named. It is believed the maritime dispute between Kenya and Somalia is the cause of the developments. Somalia denies claims that it auctioned controversial oil and gas blocks–located in a contested maritime border in the Indian Ocean. Two weeks ago, Kenya ordered all flights originating Somalia to pass through Wajir for security checks. In February this year, Kenya declared Somalia an enemy state for reportedly auctioning the blocks. President Uhuru Kenyatta chaired a Cabinet meeting to discuss the stalemate. The Cabinet agreed on a roadmap for resolving the maritime border dispute and measures for safeguarding Kenya’s territorial integrity. The resolution was to safeguard Kenya’s marine resources including offshore oil and gas exploration acreage in the Indian Ocean.Do not miss out on the latest news. Join the Standard Digital Telegram channel HERE.