KENYA Will Not
Reopen Its Border Posts With Somalia Anytime Soon Because Of The Security
Implications Of Doing So At A Time When The African Union Peacekeeping Mission
In The Neighbouring Country Is Winding Down.
Interior Principal
Secretary Raymond Omollo Told Nation.Africa In An Interview
That The Move Was Informed By The Need To Secure The Country At All Entry And
Exit Points.
Dr Omollo's Revelation
Comes Nine Months After His Boss Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure
Kindiki, And His Somali Counterpart Mohamed Ahmed Sheikh Ali Announced Their
Intention To Reopen The Borders Following High-Level Consultations In Nairobi,
Which Would Have Ended A 12-Year Barricade That Began In 2011.
With Kenya Sharing Some
800 Kilometres Of Border With Somalia, A Distance Almost Equivalent To The
Journey From Mombasa To Busia, Omollo Admitted That The Route Had Proved Very
Difficult To Secure.
But With Somalia Being
The Newest Member Of The East African Community (EAC), Dr Omollo Said The
Troubled Country Was Entitled To Benefit From The Seamless Trade And Movement
Enjoyed By Other Member States Of The Community.
"Somalia Is Unique
Because It Has Faced A Lot Of Challenges Especially Terrorism. But When
You Look At The Long Border, It Makes It Very Daunting. We Had Plans And We
Still Have Plans To Open Several Border Points With Somalia, We Thought Not Now
But We Will Do So Even As We Consider The Challenge Of Insecurity That This
Move Brings," Said Dr Omollo.
He Also Explained That Kenya
Expects More Security Challenges With The Planned Withdrawal Of The African
Union Transitional Mission In Somalia (Atmis) Troops In Somalia.
"We Are Eagerly
Waiting To See How The Drawdown Will Go And Maybe After A Few Months To Almost
A Year We Will Be Able To Make These Border Points (Between Kenya And Somalia)
Fully Functional," He Said.
In Addition, The Sheer
Terrain Of The Stretch Shared By The Two Countries Is Very Rough And Will
Require Very Heavy Investment To Seal The Loopholes In Controlling Movement In
And Out Of Kenya.
"This Area Is
Largely Arid, So Yes, Some May Say We Have A Porous Border, But It Has To Be
Seen In The Context Of The Distance And The Geographical Features Along The
Border Points," He Said.
Although The Land Border
Posts Have Yet To Open, There Is Still Movement Between Kenya And Somalia,
Particularly By Air, With Daily Flights On The Nairobi-Mogadishu Route.
This Alone Means A Large
Number Of Business Transactions Between The Two Countries, Which Dr
Omollo Says Necessitates The Reopening Of The Closed Border Points.
"We Need To Open The
Border Points, Which Will Go A Long Way In Increasing The Volume Of Trade. It Will
Also Help Us Deal With Illicit Trade As The Reopening Will Help Us Address The
Issues That Are Pushing Many To The Porous Points At The Borders," He
Said.
Dr Omollo Also Gave An
Insight Into The National Border Management Conference At The Bomas Of Kenya In
Nairobi, Which Begins On Tuesday And Will Bring Together Stakeholders In
Border Management To Discuss Strategies To Improve Efficiency In The
Sector.
At The Summit,
Stakeholders Will Take Stock Of Operations At Border Posts Over The Past Decade
Since The Establishment Of The Border Control Coordination Operations Committee,
Currently Chaired By Dr Omollo.
"We Are Meeting To
Review What Is Happening Globally In Terms Of Border Control And Also To
Emphasise The Inter-Agency Approach And Coordination In Border Management. We Will
Also Discuss The Challenges We Face In This Area," He Said.
Currently, Kenya Shares
Borders With Five Countries Including Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda And
Tanzania, Necessitating Efficient Operations At Border Points In Terms Of
Movement Of People And Goods To Facilitate Trade.
"As We Speak Today,
One Of The Agencies, The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Will Soon Be Deploying
Drones To Support Its Operations At Some Of The Land Border Points Where They
Are The Lead Agency In Terms Of Border Operations At The Land Points," PS
Omollo Said.
He Also Said Kenya Was
Changing Tactics And Would Use Technology Where It Could Not Deploy Border
Guards.
"In The Case Of The Kenya
Ports Authority (KPA) Or Airports, We Have Body Scanners And Cameras And That
Speaks To The Fact That It Is Impossible To Have Boots In Every Room. It Is
Also Not Cost-Effective, And We Have To Use Technology To Do That, Whether
It Is Drones, Cameras Or Police Equipment In Terms Of Security," He
Said.
In 2023, Fake Documents And
Identification Accounted For 40 Percent Of All Crimes Recorded At Kenya's Border
Points, And The Government Hopes To Curb This Menace Through The Country's New
Visa-Free Regime, Which Has Significantly Reduced Such Incidents.
"We Have Invested In
Making It Difficult For People To Obtain Travel Documents. The Introduction Of
The Visa-Free Regime Has Also Helped To Reduce This Challenge. Even Before
Someone Comes To Kenya, We Have Information In Advance, We Can Do Pre-Screening
And Share The Data With Agencies Like Interpol," He Said.
Aside From The Issue Of
Document Forgery At Border Points, There Is Also The Challenge Of Illegal
Movement And Trafficking, Which Deprives The Country Of Much-Needed Revenue To
Run Its Programmes.
"For The Past Month
Or So, We Have Been Discussing The Issue Of Illicit Alcohol And Part Of It Is
That We Have Ethanol Crossing The Border That Is Cheaper Than What Is Available
In Kenya. In The Illicit Trade, People Are Evading Taxes And Depriving The
Government Of Revenue," Said Omollo.
Also Key To The
Government's Plans To Improve Border Management Is The Involvement Of
Communities Through The Peace Committees, Which Are Made Up Of National
Government Administrators And Village Elders.
"This Acts As A
Forum For The Government To Talk To The Community And Identify The Challenges,
The Issues And Their Concerns, And This Helps To Address Not Only The Security
Challenges Associated With Movement Across The Border And Also The Illicit
Trade," Dr Omollo Said.
The State Is Also
Engaging A Number Of Partners, Including IOM, And Holding Bilateral Discussions
With Other Development Partners, Including The UK And US Governments, To
Support The Implementation Of Community Engagement Programmes In The Border
Counties.