Kenya suspended travelling on diplomatic passports arrangements with Somalia as part of improving her internal security, it has been established.
On Monday evening, a Somalia junior minister and two legislators were denied entry at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after they presented only their diplomatic passports.
Those denied entries are junior Minister of Water and Energy Osman Libah and legislators Ilyas Ali Hassan and Zamzam Dahir.
However, officials with foreign countries passport from Somalia, who had travelled with the three, were allowed to enter the country for an EU conference.
"Deputy Minister of Energy and two lawmakers are tonight being held at JKIA after Kenya denied them entry because they’ve Somali passports, per source. According to sources, other ministers, officials were allowed to enter only after producing their western passports," said Harun Maruf, a journalist with VOA.
But despite suspending the agreement with Somalia over passports, Kenyan authorities did not notify the neighbouring country in time to avoid such inconveniences, it has been revealed.
"The Kenyan authorities at the airport informed these guys that such plan has changed, and now everyone has to obtain visa from Kenya’s Mission in Mogadishu," a senior Somali official in the delegation, but who travelled on a foreign passport, told the Nation on Monday night.
"The officials learnt this change upon arrival as there was no prior communication regarding this."
This comes barely a week after Kenya Civil Aviation Authority directed flights from Mogadishu to stop over in Wajir for security checks before proceeding to any other airport in Kenya.
KCAA boss Gilbert Kibe said that the move was for security reasons despite protests from Mogadishu.
For several months now, the relationship between Nairobi and Mogadishu has been on the diving nose with a maritime border along the Indian Ocean which is rich in oil deposits being at the centre of controversy.
The two countries are battling at the International Court of Justice at the Hague and the case is set to start in September.
There were rumours that Somalia had auctioned the oil fields without Kenya's knowledge.