Kenya Steps In to Defuse Tensions Between Somali Federal Government and Jubaland

KISMAYO, Somalia, Oct 6 – Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is expected to visit the southern city of Kismayo on Sunday for talks with Jubaland leader Ahmed Madobe, in a meeting quietly brokered by Kenya aimed at easing years of political tensions between the two sides.

The trip marks President Mohamud’s first visit to Kismayo since the disputed 2019 re-election of Madobe, which Mogadishu rejected as unconstitutional. Relations between the federal government and the Jubaland administration have since remained strained.

The standoff saw the federal government issue an arrest warrant for Madobe, accuse him of collaborating with Islamist group al Shabaab, and launch a failed military operation in the Ras Kamboni area in a bid to take control of Kismayo. That operation ended with federal troops retreating across the Kenyan border.

Mogadishu later imposed an air blockade on Kismayo, cutting off direct flights from Kenya, which maintains close political and economic ties with Jubaland.

Diplomatic sources say Kenya, alongside Ethiopia, has played a key role in facilitating Sunday’s meeting. Kenyan intelligence chief Nooradin Mohamed Haji, who has led the mediation efforts behind the scenes for several months, is expected to attend the talks.

Kenyan troops serving under the African Union peacekeeping mission are overseeing security in Kismayo during the president’s visit.

The talks follow a recent summit in Nairobi, where Madobe, Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni, and members of the opposition coalition announced a new political alliance focused on Somalia’s upcoming transition period.

President Mohamud’s visit is seen as a significant test of whether the federal government and Jubaland can rebuild trust before national elections. Regional partners hope the meeting will signal a shift from confrontation to dialogue in managing Somalia’s complex federal structure.

GAROWE ONLINE