A secret weekend visit to Somalia by 11 Kenyan MPs at a time the
two countries are locked in a diplomatic tiff has raised eyebrows in
security circles.
Upon their return on Sunday, the
legislators were held briefly for questioning at the Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport (JKIA) before being released, with indications
that they could face a parliamentary probe for leaving the country
without official clearance. Six of the parliamentarians are from the
border counties of Mandera, three from Wajir and two from Garissa.
They
chartered a flight to Somalia capital Mogadishu on Saturday, where they
had dinner with President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo. Their agenda was
not disclosed, although they travelled on diplomatic passports and were
treated as State guests.
CHARGED IN COURT
They
are Kullow Maalim (Banisa), Ahmed Kolosh (Wajir West), Ibrahim Abdi
(Lafey), Rashid Kassim (Wajir East), Mohamed Hire (Lagdera), Omar Maalim
(Mandera East), Bashir Abdullahi (Mandera North), Adan Haji (Mandera
West), Dr Hassan Dahiye (Daadab), Ahmed Bashane (Tarbaj) and Aden Keynan
(Eldas).
Initial reports indicated that the MPs met
with members of the Somali National Intelligence Agency (NISA) but one
of the leaders, who spoke to the Nation, denied this
Some of the 11 MPs at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi
after returning from Somalia. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NBATION MEDIA GROUP
Addressing the press at JKIA, Interior Security
Secretary Muriithi Kangi said the MPs would not be...
charged in court “at least for the time being”.
charged in court “at least for the time being”.
“What was of concern to the
country was how the MPs travelled to a foreign country without clearance
and on a matter whose agenda was not clear to the government,” said Mr
Kangi. The incident came as Kenya and Somalia traded accusations over
interference.
The Nation has learnt that Kenya is protesting what it calls Somalia’s “fabricated” accusations of internal interference.
In
a strongly-worded protest note to Mogadishu, Nairobi says it supports
Somalia’s peace bid, but will not accept to be used to settle its
neighbour’s political games.
INVALID ALLEGATIONS
“Kenya
rejects the unwarranted and invalid allegations made by the Federal
Government of Somalia and takes great exception to the fabricated
indictments of interfering in Somalia’s internal affairs.
These
baseless accusations are part of a growing and persistent pattern of
ill intent to use Kenya as a scapegoat and tool to justify unfulfilled
legitimate and social demands in Somalia and for political mileage,”
states the note seen by the Nation.
“Kenya
will not accept to be used in that manner… Kenya considers the
accusations to be an insincere attempt by the Federal Government of
Somalia to create artificial fissures in the relations between the two
countries for short-term political expediency. These efforts have at
times escalated to threats to Kenya’s security....”
Kenya’s
concerns on its national security arose from comments last month by the
Gedo region Deputy Governor Abdi Moalimu, who threatened to mobilise
SNA troops to invade the country.
Despite their release, the Nation has learnt that the MPs may not be off the hook just yet.
Their
secret trip may be headed for investigations by the relevant committee
of the National Assembly that will come up with specific recommendations
to the relevant investigative agencies, such as the Directorate of
Criminal Investigations (DCI).
STANDING ORDERS
On
Sunday, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi confirmed that the MPs
did not seek his clearance before travelling to a country that has
become hostile, going by the pronouncements of her senior government
officials and the threat of Al-Shabaab.
“I was only
told about it yesterday [Sunday] but they did not seek permission or
even inform me as required,” Mr Muturi told the Nation.
According
to Standing Order 260 of the National Assembly, members travelling
outside Kenya, whether in an official or a private capacity, shall give
to the Speaker a written notice to that effect, indicating the
destination intended to be visited.
They are also
required to give the dates of the intended travel and period of absence
from Kenya and their email, telephone contact, postal or physical
address during the period of absence from Kenya.
The
information submitted under this Standing Order shall be kept in a
register that the Clerk shall maintain for that purpose and shall not be
disclosed to any person without the permission of the Speaker.
If
brought to the House, whether through a petition by an MP or any member
of the public, the matter will be investigated by the Powers and
Privileges Committee of the House chaired by the Speaker.
The import of the probe will be to establish whether the MPs violated the privileges accorded to them by the State.
TREASON
If
found culpable by the recommendations of the committee and if adopted
by the House, charges of treason, which essentially means siding with a
State at war with Kenya or espionage — spying for a foreign nation — may
be preferred against them.
Mandera North MP Bashir Abdullahi earlier on told the Nation the legislators had travelled on a “security mission”.
“It
is true we are in Mogadishu. We came here for the simple reason of the
insecurity that has affected our region, we needed to talk to Somalia
authorities to help find a solution,” he said.
Mr
Bashir, a retired soldier, said the group met the Federal Government of
Somalia. “We arrived in Mogadishu on Saturday and, after lunch, we met
President Farmaajo who was a person of interest to us in this visit,” he
said.
The Nation, however, learnt that the
mission was not officially communicated to protocol officials at the
National Assembly or the Foreign Ministry.
Neither Kenya’s Ambassador to Mogadishu Lucas Tumbo nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nairobi knew of the visit.
As
is tradition, when MPs travel to a foreign country, the local Kenyan
diplomatic mission must be told as MPs are State officers.
A diplomat in Nairobi told the Nation that no communication or agenda on the visit was shared.
DETAINED
The
note comes barely hours after police briefly detained and later on
released 11 MPs at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi
moments after they landed from Mogadishu.
It was a
response to Somalia’s own accusation of Nairobi, but it came in the
aftermath of the politicians travelling on a secret mission to talk
about a public security issue that is routinely handled by the
executive.
While MPs may travel as private citizens,
meeting a foreign President is not and must be the arrangement of
protocol officers, a diplomat in Nairobi explained.
But
more curious was the fact that the MPs travelled on the invitation of
the Somali National Security Intelligence Agency Fahad Yasin. And left
the country on a chartered flight, paid for by Mogadishu. While in
Mogadishu, they lodged on the premises of NISA, suggesting the mission
was more a Mogadishu affair than a Kenyan one.
Later on Saturday, they were hosted to dinner in Villa Somalia, the residence of the Somali President.
Officially,
Mr Abdullahi said the MPs deliberated on safeguarding Gedo Region that
has been used as an entry point by Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliate in
Somalia, into Kenya.
“It is known that the Jubbaland
forces and other forces in Somalia have not taken full control of the
Gedo region leading to increased cases of insecurity in the
North-Eastern region,” the MP argued.
But this argument
came as Somalia publicly accused Kenya of interfering in its internal
matters and violating its territorial integrity.
In the
Gedo region, part of Jubbaland federal state, the Somali National Army
has recently been deployed ostensibly to guard the border but to
actually fight off Jubbaland security forces, Kenya’s known allies.
SECURITY
If the mission was to seek security cooperation, then Somalia’s own sentiments contradicted it.
Mr
Abukar Dahir Osman, the Somali Ambassador to the UN, had, in fact, said
his government had run out of diplomatic channels in engaging with
Kenya and suggested his country could report Nairobi to the UN Security
Council.
“Kenya continues to be a destabilising force
for Somalia. Kenya’s continuous encroachment into Somalia’s border areas
outrightly undermines our sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he
told the UN Security Council sitting on Thursday, referring to the
border squabbles.
“If these aforementioned actions do
not immediately cease, we will invoke the United Nations Charter,
Article 35, and we will bring our case against Kenya’s breach of our
sovereignty … to the UN Security Council.”
The said
article allows a member state to bring any dispute or situation likely
to endanger international security, to the attention of the UN Security
Council.
Kenya will on Monday be submitting a response
to the Somali envoy’s claim to the UN Security Council and Nairobi will
now accuse Mogadishu of using local agents in Kenya to destabilise the
country when the UN Security Council opens sessions on Monday afternoon.
Were the MPs now anti-Kenyan tools by Mogadishu? Mr Omar Maalim, another of the MPs, had last week touched off a spark when he asked why Kenya was hosting a fugitive from Jubbaland,
Adinur Abdirashid Janan, wanted by Mogadishu for alleged human rights
crimes. Janan had reportedly fled a house arrest in Mogadishu.
The
MPs, however, said their travel was based on directives issued by
President Uhuru Kenyatta in their recent State House meeting in Nairobi.
LOOPHOLES
“President
Kenyatta asked us to find a solution to the current insecurity in
North-Eastern and we felt we should start with Mogadishu which can help
us close all security loopholes,” Abdullahi said, referring to the
incessant Shabaab attacks in the area.
“We are good
neighbours and we urged Somalia to support Kenya get a seat in the
Security Council which will help improve the situation,” he said.
“We
were there as a bridge between Kenya and Somalia on the maritime
boundary dispute and we urged Somalia's administration to tone down on
counter-accusations but find an amicable solution for a mutual
relationship,” he said.
The MP said the trip was only
an initiative of MPs from North-Eastern and that the three governors
were in the picture and they did not need clearance from Nairobi.
“We
have a parliamentary diplomatic arrangement which we used to come but
still a top office in Nairobi is aware of the same,” he said.
He
vehemently denied that the legislators met the Somali National
Intelligence Agency (NISA) as claimed in a section of the media.
“We
came to meet Somalia President on issues affecting North-Eastern that
come from Gedo region and we met nobody else, we shall stop at nothing
in finding a solution to the current situation,” he said.
The
Kenya Defence Forces are a part of the African Union Mission in
Somalia, meant to fight Al-Shabaab. But the relationship between the two
countries has been lukewarm since Farmaajo took power in February 2017.
Mogadishu also sued Kenya at the International Court of Justice over a
maritime boundary dispute. The case is to be determined this June.
Reports by Aggrey Mutambo, Manase Otsialo and David Mwere - Daily Nation.
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