“Reopen The Kenya-Somalia Border!” – North Eastern MPs Tell Ruto
Leaders from North Eastern Kenya have renewed appeals for a quick reopening of the Kenya-Somalia border.
They have cautioned that the delays are choking local economies and increasing frustration among citizens who rely significantly on cross-border trade.
Addressing a gathering in Garissa on Monday, the leaders, led by Fafi MP Salah Yakub, urged President William Ruto to take decisive action.
Yakub stated that the region’s economic lifeline lay just a few kilometers across the border.
“We are the second-largest economy, but nobody comes back to help us,” Yakub said.
“A town like Garissa depends on that border, which is only 40 kilometres away and 50 kilometres to Kismayu port. We are asking the President to direct the reopening so that we can freely trade.”
The Kenya-Somalia border was officially closed in October 2011 as the government responded to a surge of Al-Shabaab attacks.
However, what appeared to be a temporary solution to the insecurity caused a disruption in travel and trade for thousands of people living near the border, with companies in places such as Garissa and Mandera suffering the consequences.
Nairobi and Mogadishu officials agreed in May last year to restore three border points in phases, beginning with Mandera and on to Garissa and Lamu.
However, the plan was severely hampered by a surge in lethal attacks in June of that year.
On June 13, the same year, eight police officers were killed in Garissa after their vehicle collided with an improvised explosive device.
Eleven days later, five civilians were slain in Lamu in an attack claimed by Al-Shabaab, with some of the victims being beheaded.
The heightened insecurity prompted authorities to postpone the reopening plan, leaving residents in the region in uncertainty.
Despite the fact that much cross-border trade occurs unofficially, Kenya exported items worth roughly USD130 million (about Ksh16.8 billion) to Somalia in 2024, while imports from Somalia totaled just over USD4 million (around Ksh517 million).
Ruto’s ID Directive
Meanwhile, President Ruto issued an Executive Order earlier this year that waived the vetting process for Northeastern residents applying for national identification certificates.
Another lawmaker from North Eastern leaves Kenyans' mouths wide open after proposing that locals should reciprocate by overwhelmingly voting for Ruto's 2027 bid to remove barriers that made it difficult to acquire IDs.
— Kenya Digest (@Kenya_Digest) July 15, 2025
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However, it has been shown that the locals have yet to reap the benefits of the directive.
Tarbaj MP Ibrahim Saney claimed that the IDs are mostly kept in Nairobi, where the processed forms were taken for printing.
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He accused unnamed officials of undermining the President’s directive on easing the issuance of national ID cards in the region.
“They call it validation in Nairobi, yet there is no provision of IDs happening in Garissa. Vetting has been removed, but the IDs are not coming back,” Saney said.
He went on, “Who is this sabotaging the President? Something must be done about the production of identification cards.”
“Reopen The Kenya-Somalia Border!” – North Eastern MPs Tell Ruto
