President William Ruto has explained why the Kenya-Somalia border remains closed despite an earlier promise by his government to reopen it in April this year.
Speaking during an interview with France 24 on the sidelines of the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Ruto said the plan was affected by rising insecurity and political tensions inside Somalia.
According to the President, Kenya and the Somali government had made progress on plans to reopen the border before disagreements emerged between the federal government in Mogadishu and regional states.
“We were moving very well until there was a huge disagreement between the government in Mogadishu and the states,” Ruto said.
He cited confrontations between the Somali National Army and regional forces close to the border, indicating that the development presented new security challenges for Kenya.
According to Ruto, some Somali forces entered Kenya amid the conflicts, necessitating Kenya’s intervention to help settle the matter.
“In fact, at that time, some of the Somali National Army were pushed into Kenya, and that complicated the situation,” he stated.
Further, the President noted that the current political uncertainty in Somalia complicates matters, citing that the country’s parliamentary tenure expires, yet no political path is evident.
“So the border for the time being is not open,” he added.
There have been talks ongoing by Kenya with other countries in the region such as Ethiopia and Djibouti aimed at supporting stability in Somalia despite Ruto’s admission of slow progress made towards achieving this objective.
It was assumed that the reopening of the border would stimulate business transactions and movements among the neighboring countries amid increased security measures.
However, insecurity has continued to affect areas along the Mandera border, where residents have raised concerns over armed groups and the presence of foreign forces near Kenyan territory.
In recent months, locals in Mandera have staged protests over insecurity, saying the situation has affected business, learning and normal life in the area.
The concerns have also grown following recent attacks in the region, including an ambush on a public service vehicle that left several people dead and others injured.
The Kenya-Somalia border was initially closed in 2011 after multiple security breaches attributed to terrorist group Al-Shabaab. There have been many attempts at reopening the border but have faced numerous delays due to security threats.
