Kenya and Somalia since independence, have had the best relationship a country can have with its neighbor. Kenya has offered Somalia citizens refuge for more than three decades since civil wars erupted in Somalia. A notable Somalia refugee who was hosted in Kenya is a US Minnesota congress woman Ilhan Omar among others. Kenya has been lenient to Somalia to the extent of allowing Somalia presidents to run their government from Kenya capital Nairobi. Kenya has taken Somalia problems to be part of her problem.
Kenya Defence Forces has played a key role of liberating major cities in Somalia from the hands of Al-Shabaab terrorist group. This was not a light task as it came with heavy price. Kenya lost soldiers fighting for stabilization of Somalia because when Somalia is not stable it poses a big threat to neighboring countries. Through Kenya Defence Forces fighting and capturing major cities and pinning down Al-Shabaab militants the Government of Somalia moved to operate in its capital Mogadishu.
Recently, the tension between the two states has escalated. We have all witnessed Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo issuing threats to Kenya through Somalia ministry of foreign affairs and before the week ended, he went ahead and hosted 8 Somali Kenyan MPs in villa Somalia without involving Kenya government.
President Farmajo has picked two cards to use against the government of Kenya and paint it as an enemy to Somalia. One wooing NEP leaders including elders and Member of Parliament to spread their subversive ideas against Kenyan government .We have all witnessed a video going round of Mandera elders rising nonsensical demands to the Kenyan government on behalf of Somalia government.
President Farmajo through government of Somalia media houses are pushing an allegations that KDF is bombing civilians and mast in Gedo region in order to create rift between the local people and the KDF serving under AMISOM who their mandate is to root out AS militants. We all know through an investigation story done by NTV Seth Olale that Alshabaab is responsible for decommissioning both Safaricom and Hormuud masts whenever they are about to conduct attacks in border areas. The Kenyan Government through ministry of foreign affairs yesterday responded to Somalia allegation terming them as “fabricated indictments for political expediency” by FGS. Part of the document stated “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.
“Kenya will not accept to be used in that manner and encourages the Federal Government of Somalia to stop the campaign and use the energy to deliver leadership to their people.”
