Wajir South MP Mohammed Adow has dismissed claims that Jubaland forces are actively training in Kenya, saying any such activity would be part of a Kenya-backed security arrangement against al-Shabaab.
Speaking on Spice FM on Tuesday, September 2, Adow said the forces in Kenya are loyal to the Jubaland administration in Kismayo, which is allied to Nairobi.
“The information I have, and I have relatives there, is that the forces who were in Kenya actually ran here for their lives. They were forcefully ejected from a Somali border town and crossed over in retreat,” he said.
The MP, however, criticised their presence in residential areas and schools. “This is unfortunate. Training should not happen in public spaces. It is destabilizing and must be stopped.”
Tension has been rising in Mandera County over reports that Jubaland fighters are camped inside Kenyan territory.
Mandera Governor Mohamed Khalif last week warned that armed units have taken over schools and marketplaces along the Somalia border, forcing at least one primary school to close.
“Mandera cannot be turned into a battleground for Somalia. We have no interest in Somalia except for peace,” Khalif said, adding that if the militia is not withdrawn, residents may be forced to act.
He warned that the presence of foreign forces was instilling fear among families and threatening Kenya’s sovereignty.
Adow linked the crisis to Kenya’s long involvement in Somalia, which began with Operation Linda Nchi in 2011. He noted that Nairobi had promised to create buffer zones and secure trade routes through Kismayo, but Mandera residents now face the insecurity the intervention was meant to repel.
“The elephant in the room is the tussle between Mogadishu and Jubaland. Until they work together, these spillovers will continue,” Adow said.
He added that Mandera residents remain caught in uncertainty, with parents keeping children home, traders scaling back activity, and communities anxiously watching the border.
“The people of Mandera have the right to live in peace. The government must deal with this matter once and for all,” he said.
