Top Somali official deported from Kenya over suspected passport fraud

Somalia’s Second Deputy Prime Minister was deported from Kenya on Thursday over allegations of passport fraud, according to numerous reports.

A police report on Friday showed that Jibril Abdi-rashid Haji, Somalia’s Second Deputy Prime Minister, arrived in Nairobi on Wednesday with a Somali diplomatic passport and valid visa.

But immigration officials suspected him of also holding a Kenyan passport that he had acquired illicitly.

Haji reportedly refused to hand it over, saying it was a matter for the courts. He was then put on a flight back to Mogadishu, effectively denied entry into Kenya.

Neither government has commented on the reports.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was in Kenya on Sunday for talks with President William Ruto.

The two countries are key partners in regional security operations against Al-Shabaab militants. Kenya is also home to a large Somali business community.