NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 3 — Somalia’s Second Deputy Prime Minister Jibril Abdirashid Haji has surrendered his Kenyan passport, weeks after he was deported from Nairobi after immigration authorities flagged the document at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
Haji handed the passport to officials at the Kenyan Embassy in Mogadishu on Monday, describing the move as a voluntary administrative decision that reflects his commitment and loyalty Somalia.
The Deputy Prime Minister maintained that the Kenyan passport had been lawfully acquired and used in full compliance with Kenyan laws and procedures.
He stressed that relinquishing the document was not prompted by any dispute with Kenyan authorities or any official request, but was instead a personal decision taken in line with his responsibilities as a senior government official.
“The passport was genuine and lawfully obtained, and its use fully complied with Kenyan laws and procedures,” he said, adding that the handover was “purely administrative.”
Haji also thanked the Government and people of Kenya for what he described as decades of hospitality extended to Somalis, saying the friendship between the two countries remained invaluable.
“My commitment to the Federal Republic of Somalia remains unwavering,” he said, adding that surrendering the passport demonstrated his dedication to public service while reaffirming his respect for Kenya and his commitment to strengthening bilateral relations.
Monday’s announcement comes just over a month after Haji was deported from Kenya following an encounter with immigration officials at JKIA.
According to a police incident report filed at the airport on June 26, Haji arrived in Nairobi from Mogadishu aboard a Saacid Airlines flight using a valid Somali diplomatic passport and Kenyan visa.
During immigration clearance, officers pressed him over the possession of a fraudulently acquired Kenyan passport.
The report said Haji acknowledged possessing the passport but declined to surrender it when requested, insisting he would only produce it before a court of law.
“He admitted and when asked to produce the passport, he declined to surrender and claimed that he can only produce it in a court of law,” the report stated.
Authorities subsequently held him at the VIP lounge in Terminal 2 before facilitating his return to Mogadishu the following day aboard a Daallo Airlines flight.
The latest development also comes amid heightened scrutiny of senior Somali officials holding Kenyan passports after Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud reportedly directed public officials with Kenyan travel documents to surrender them or resign from government.
The issue has also revived debate in Kenya over the legal basis upon which foreign nationals are issued Kenyan passports.
Under the Constitution and the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, Kenyan passports are issued only to Kenyan citizens, including dual nationals.
There is no express legal provision allowing non-citizen foreign officials to hold Kenyan passports, making allegations that such documents were issued outside the established citizenship framework a recurring source of political and legal controversy.
