Mogadishu (UM) – According to Ababu Namwamba, the Chief Administrative Secretary of the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kheyre held talks with him at the Kenyan Embassy compound in Mogadishu yesterday. According to Mr. Nawamba’s Tweet the talks were “on bilateral issues of mutual interest to Kenya and Somalia” but there is no further details. What concerns the Somali people is that these talks were held in secret and follow the New York meeting between President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo and Uhuru Kenyatta which ended with an understanding to start the talk on positive diplomatic re-engagement without negotiations on the maritime case.
Held talks this evening with Somalia Prime Minister H.E Hassan Ali Khaire in Mogadishu on bilateral issues of mutual interest to Kenya and Somalia, accompanied by Kenya's Ambassador to Somalia Gen. (Rtd) Lucas Tumbo and @ForeignOfficeKE Director for Peace & Security John Kilonzi. pic.twitter.com/eipP7XHCu0
— Hon Ababu-Namwamba, EGH🇰🇪 (@AbabuNamwamba) October 1, 2019
Some of the important questions that need answers are; did the President know about this meeting? This is an important question because while the Kenyan delegation is pictured with the Chief Administrative Secretary, Prime Minister Kheyre is standing alone among the Kenyan delegation. Where is the Foreign Minister, Ahmed Awad? What was discussed? Why did the Prime Minister not invite the delegation to his office?
What makes the public concerned is that the Prime Minister of Somalia will take time from his busy schedule to meet with Kenyan officials who the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could have met with at their own diplomatic ranks. The highest civil servant the Kenyans should have seen is the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Prime Minister’s office if the message they carried was that important. Now, Somali diplomacy is once again showing its ugly face of bad protocol. The Prime Minister must be careful not to harm the Somali maritime case with poor decision making and actions like yesterday. He must also go on the record to say what he discussed with the Kenyan and why he met them alone or who was with him when he met them. This meeting is no longer a secret and the public have a right to know what was discussed because the future of their sea is at stake. The public also know that Prime Minister Kheyre has many interests in Kenya and this is why it is even more important for him to speak to the public.