Somalia and Kenya

How do Somalia and Kenya relate today?

Kenya and Somalia are neighbours with deep links through trade, refugees and security. Somalia became a member of the East African Community (EAC), to which Kenya belongs, when it deposited its ratification in Arusha on 4 March 2024 (Capital FM, March 2024). Kenyan troops serve in the AU mission in Somalia, which al-Shabaab cites as its reason for attacks in Kenya (Dawan Africa, 12 November 2026).

On 10 November 2026 suspected al-Shabaab fighters killed eight Kenyans on the Mandera–Arabia–Lafey road (Dawan Africa, 12 November 2026). Somalia's Ministry of Information condemned the attack and called for militants to be fought jointly (Dawan Africa).

The sea boundary remains a dispute. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) gave judgment on 12 October 2021 (ICJ, case 161), and Kenya's foreign ministry said it did not recognise the ruling (Wikipedia, Somalia v. Kenya).

When did contact begin?

Somali herders and traders lived across what became the Kenya–Somalia border long before colonial rule. Britain created the Northern Frontier District (NFD) in 1925 from part of Jubaland, after ceding the northern part of Jubaland to Italy (Wikipedia, Kenya–Somalia relations). See Partition 1884–1926.

Before Kenya's independence, a commission led by Major-General Bogert of Canada and Mr Onyiuke of Nigeria surveyed opinion in the NFD and reported on 7 December 1962 (UK Parliament, Hansard, House of Lords, 3 April 1963). It found people in the eastern areas, including Mandera, Wajir and Garissa, "almost unanimously favoured the secession" from Kenya to join the Somali Republic (Hansard, 1963).

On 8 March 1963 Colonial Secretary Duncan Sandys announced instead that the Somali areas would become a seventh region of Kenya (Hansard, 1963). The Somali Republic broke off diplomatic relations with Britain about a week later (Hansard, 1963).

Kenya became independent in December 1963 and declared a state of emergency 13 days later (MIT CASCON case study). The armed conflict that followed in the north-east is known as the Shifta war; see The Northern Frontier District 1962–1967.

On 28 October 1967 President Jomo Kenyatta and Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal signed a memorandum of understanding at Arusha, after mediation by Zambia's President Kenneth Kaunda (Reuters archive record).

Who are the ambassadors and envoys?

• Jamal Mohamed Hassan was named Somalia's ambassador to Kenya in April 2015 (Wikipedia, Kenya–Somalia relations).
• In February 2019 Kenya recalled its ambassador from Mogadishu and asked Somalia's ambassador to go home for consultations, after Somalia offered disputed oil and gas blocks (Wikipedia, Kenya–Somalia relations).
• On 30 June 2019 Somalia summoned Kenya's ambassador and handed him a protest note over a Kenyan tweet on Somaliland (Arab News, 1 July 2019).
• In December 2020 Somalia gave Kenyan diplomats seven days to leave Mogadishu (Wikipedia, Kenya–Somalia relations).

Kenya has an embassy in Mogadishu, and Somalia has an embassy in Nairobi. The names of recent ambassadors on both sides could not be sourced for this page.

Who built the tie?

• Major-General Bogert and Mr Onyiuke led the 1962 NFD Commission (Hansard, 1963).
• Duncan Sandys, British Colonial Secretary, announced the March 1963 decision to keep the NFD in Kenya (Hansard, 1963).
• Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal and Jomo Kenyatta signed the 1967 Arusha memorandum; Kenneth Kaunda mediated, with Julius Nyerere and Milton Obote as observers (Reuters archive record).
• Moses Wetangula, Kenya's foreign minister, and Mohamed Yusuf Haji, defence minister, were the Kenyan leads during Operation Linda Nchi in 2011 (Wikipedia, Operation Linda Nchi).
• Ahmed Madobe, leader of the Raskamboni movement and later President of Jubaland, fought alongside Kenyan forces in 2011–2012 (Wikipedia, Operation Linda Nchi).
• Fred Matiang'i, Kenya's Interior Cabinet Secretary, gave UNHCR 14 days in March 2021 to plan the closure of Dadaab and Kakuma (Garowe Online, 24 March 2021).
• William Ruto and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud discussed airline commissions on the khat trade in 2022 (Al Jazeera, 31 March 2023).
• Kimathi Munjuri, chairman of the Kenyan khat traders' group NYAMITA, spoke for growers on the reopened trade (Al Jazeera, 2023).
• Hassan Sheikh Mohamud launched Somalia's EAC bid at the EAC headquarters in July 2022 and signed the accession treaty in Entebbe in December 2023 (Capital FM).
• Peter Mathuki, EAC Secretary General, received Somalia's instrument of ratification on 4 March 2024 (Capital FM).

What agreements have they signed?

• Arusha memorandum of understanding, 28 October 1967: peaceful border, end of hostile propaganda, and a review of economic and trade links (Reuters archive record).
• Joint communiqué, 31 October 2011: issued after talks in Nairobi on the Kenyan operation in southern Somalia (Wikipedia, Operation Linda Nchi).
• MoU on continental shelf submissions, 7 April 2009: signed by Kenya and the Transitional Federal Government; Somalia's parliament rejected it in October 2009 (Wikipedia, Kenya–Somalia relations).
• Tripartite agreement with UNHCR, 2013: on voluntary return of Somali refugees from Dadaab (Wikipedia, Kenya–Somalia relations).
• Treaty of Accession to the EAC: signed 16 December 2023, ratification deposited 4 March 2024 (Capital FM).

Which leaders have visited?

• 28 October 1967: Kenyatta and Egal met in Arusha, Tanzania (Reuters archive record).
• October 2011: Kenyan and Somali leaders met in Nairobi and issued a joint communiqué on 31 October (Wikipedia, Operation Linda Nchi).
• 2022: Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and William Ruto met on trade, including khat (Al Jazeera, 2023).

A fuller dated list of presidential visits between Nairobi and Mogadishu could not be sourced for this edition.

How much do they trade?

Kenya reported these exports to Somalia (UN Comtrade, Kenya reporter, 2021; 2022; 2023; 2024):

• 2016: US$176.7 million
• 2019: US$116.0 million
• 2021: US$122.5 million
• 2022: US$129.9 million
• 2023: US$154.3 million
• 2024: US$129.8 million

Kenya's imports from Somalia were US$4.2 million in 2024 (UN Comtrade, 2024). In 2024 the largest export groups were tobacco (US$49.5 million), medicines (US$15.8 million), food preparations (US$9.0 million) and fuels (US$8.8 million) (UN Comtrade, by chapter, 2024).

Miraa (khat). Somalia was Kenyan khat's biggest overseas customer (Al Jazeera, 31 March 2023). In March 2020 Somalia stopped international flights except humanitarian ones, which cut off khat from Kenya (Al Jazeera, 31 March 2020). Black-market prices in Mogadishu rose to about US$100 a kilogram from about US$9 to US$10 (Al Jazeera, 2020). The trade reopened in 2022, mostly on private charter flights (Al Jazeera, 2023). See The khat trade.

Airlines. Kenya Airways resumed Nairobi–Mogadishu flights from 14 February 2024, three times a week (flights KQ362 and KQ363); it had last served Mogadishu regularly until 2020 (Aeroroutes, 22 November 2023). In 2019 Kenya required flights from Mogadishu to stop in Wajir for security screening (Arab News, 1 July 2019).

Business. Nairobi's Eastleigh district is a major hub of Somali trade and capital. See Eastleigh Somali business.

How much aid and money has gone in?

Kenya is not a large aid donor to Somalia. Its largest contributions are hosting refugees and troops. Kenya has pointed to its humanitarian support for refugees, military protection for the Somali government, and hosting that government in Nairobi (Anadolu Agency, 19 March 2021).

What about security?

Kenyan forces crossed into southern Somalia on 16 October 2011 in Operation Linda Nchi and were integrated into AMISOM in June 2012 (Wikipedia, Operation Linda Nchi). Al-Shabaab attacks continue in Kenya's border counties, including six police killed in Garissa County on 23 March 2025 (Al Jazeera, 23 March 2025). For bases, numbers and battles, see Kenya's military in Somalia and Foreign forces in Somalia.

How does Kenya deal with Somaliland and the member states?

Somaliland

• In June 2019 Kenya's foreign ministry tweeted about talks with Somaliland officials on "issues of mutual interest to both countries" (Arab News, 1 July 2019). Somalia called this an "affront to Somalia's sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity" (Arab News).
• In December 2020, around a visit to Nairobi by Somaliland's president, Somalia accused Kenya of interfering in its affairs and cut diplomatic ties (Wikipedia, Kenya–Somalia relations).

Jubaland

• Kenya's ties with Jubaland under Ahmed Madobe deepened in economic and military cooperation (Wikipedia, Kenya–Somalia relations).
• Fighting between federal and Jubaland forces in Gedo has centred on Beled Hawo, a commercial gateway to Kenya (Garowe Online).

Have there been disputes?

• NFD and the Shifta war, 1963–1967: see above (Hansard; MIT CASCON).
• Sea boundary: Somalia filed its case at the ICJ on 28 August 2014; the court rejected Kenya's preliminary objections on 2 February 2017 and ruled on the merits on 12 October 2021 (ICJ, case 161). On 19 March 2021 Kenya said it would not take part in the hearings, arguing that Somalia had rejected a boundary it accepted for more than 35 years (Anadolu Agency, 19 March 2021). The area in dispute was about 160,580 square kilometres (Anadolu Agency).
• Oil blocks, February 2019: Kenya recalled its ambassador after Somalia offered blocks in the disputed area (Wikipedia, Kenya–Somalia relations).
• Diplomatic break, December 2020 to May 2021: relations were restored in May 2021 with Qatari mediation (Wikipedia, Kenya–Somalia relations).
• Refugee camps: in March 2021 Kenya gave UNHCR an ultimatum to close Dadaab and Kakuma (Garowe Online, 24 March 2021).
• Visas: Kenya's 2025 visa fee waiver for African travellers excluded Somalia and Libya, citing security concerns (The Star, 14 July 2025).

How many Somalis live in Kenya?

At the end of 2025 UNHCR counted 319,471 refugees and 139,660 asylum seekers from Somalia in Kenya (UNHCR Refugee Data Finder API). Kenya also has its own large Somali-Kenyan citizen population. See Kenya (Eastleigh, Dadaab, North Eastern Kenya).

Where does Kenya stand in the UN and other bodies on Somalia?

• Kenya is a troop contributor to the AU missions in Somalia (Wikipedia, Operation Linda Nchi).
• Kenya was a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2021 (Garowe Online, 24 March 2021).
• Both are members of IGAD, the African Union and, since 2024, the EAC (Capital FM).

Related pages

• Kenya (Eastleigh, Dadaab, North Eastern Kenya)
• The Northern Frontier District 1962–1967
• Kenya's military in Somalia
• Foreign forces in Somalia
• Eastleigh Somali business
• The khat trade
• Jubaland
• Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal
• Ahmed Madobe
• Hassan Sheikh Mohamud