Kenya deports Somalia's second deputy PM over 'fraudulent' Kenyan passport: Report

Kenyan authorities this week deported Somalia's second Deputy Prime Minister Jibril Abdirashid Haji after he was accused of fraudulently obtaining a Kenyan passport, according to Reuters, citing a police report on Friday.

The report said Haji arrived at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Wednesday afternoon carrying a Somali diplomatic passport with a valid Kenyan visa.

During routine immigration checks, officials allegedly discovered that he had also acquired a Kenyan passport under suspicious circumstances.

According to the police report, Haji acknowledged possessing the Kenyan passport during questioning but refused to hand it over to authorities.

"When interrogated he admitted, and when asked to produce the passport he declined to surrender (it) and claimed that he can only produce it in a court of law," the report stated.

More from World

The report added that the Somali official was held in a VIP lounge at Nairobi airport before being issued a return ticket to Mogadishu.

He was subsequently deported on a flight that departed early on Thursday.

Kenya hosts a sizeable Somali diaspora and has long played a role in regional security efforts, including contributing troops to peacekeeping missions in Somalia.

With inputs from agencies