Mandera County Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif.
Mohamed Adan Khalif Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif has asked the national government to step in and remove Jubaland military forces from Mandera immediately.
Mr Khalif said the continued presence of foreign forces in Mandera compromises national sovereignty and local lives.
He claimed the soldiers had set up a camp at the Border Point One area, which was interfering with normal activities.
Last month, fighting between the Federal Government of Somalia troops and Jubbaland forces spilled over into Kenya, disrupting lives and threatening the safety of locals.
The governor said a local school remains closed due to the presence of Jubbaland forces.
“We are calling upon President William Ruto, commander in chief of the defence forces, to intervene immediately and remove the Jubbaland forces from Mandera,” the governor said.
He added, “Mandera will never be a battlefield for Somali forces. We have no interest in Somalia, and they should take their fighting to their own country. We only wish for peaceful coexistence, and we have no business in their internal affairs.”
Mr Khalif said learning in areas near the Somali border has been interrupted by the presence of foreign forces.
“We have students preparing to take national exams in the next month, yet their schools remain closed. How can you close a public school and turn it into a military training camp?” he posed.
However, Hussein Mohamed, Mandera County Secretary of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), said that the schools are operational.
“The presence of foreign forces in the area is causing fear and tension in the community,” he said over the phone.
Jubbaland forces crossed into Mandera last month amid a military clash in Bula-Hawa, resulting in deaths and the displacement of Somali nationals in the town.
Thousands of residents of Bula-Hawa fled to Mandera, settling in at least three schools, as fighting intensified back home.
According to a Kenya Red Cross official in Mandera, some refugees have since returned home.
The fighting erupted unexpectedly on July 22 shortly after Abdirashid Janan, the newly appointed commander of Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), arrived in Bula-Hawa by helicopter. He landed at a military installation on the outskirts of the town, near the Kenyan border.
After a week of intense clashes, Somalia’s federal government troops drove out those loyal to the semi-autonomous Jubaland administration and took control of the strategic border town of Bula-Hawa in the Gedo region.
Governor Khalif called for the immediate relocation of the Jubaland forces out of Mandera, warning that if the national government failed to act, the locals could take matters into their own hands.
“We want the immediate relocation of the Jubbaland forces out of Mandera. If they don’t do it, we will do it ourselves,” said the United Democratic Movement elected governor. He said the national government was at liberty to offer support to the Jubbaland forces from inside Somalia.
“There is more than enough land inside Somalia. Take them there and support them from there. Our people continue to suffer in the presence of the Jubbaland forces. We cannot go to school, and we cannot work on our farms in our own county,” he said.
He claimed that the presence of Jubbaland forces has exposed locals to untold suffering, including deaths, injuries, and damage to infrastructure in the area.
“You cannot stop our people. You cannot stop them from going to their farms. You can’t close schools and damage infrastructure in the name of supporting a function in Somalia. What interest do you have in Somalia?” he asked.
He argued that Mandera was not benefiting from Somalia, which made it unnecessary for the Jubaland forces to remain in the arid county.
The agitated governor said he is disappointed with how the Ministry of Defence is functioning.
“I can’t even remember the name of the Cabinet Secretary for Defence. I don’t know what she is doing if she cannot protect the residents of Mandera from this aggression,” he said.
Mr Khalif wants the Kenya Defence Forces to be recalled from Somalia so that the Jubaland forces can take control of the state.
The first-term governor made these comments during the launch of a dialysis centre at the Mandera County Referral Hospital, where he said that good health is inseparable from peace and security.
“As governor of Mandera, I strongly condemn this. The safety and security of our people is non-negotiable. We call on all local, regional, and international actors to respect our borders and support peace and stability in the region,” he said.
Governor Khalif took issue with Ethiopia, asking them to stop using Mandera as a response to fighting in Somalia.
“I want to ask our neighbours in Ethiopia to stay away from Mandera. There are many other border points you can use to support Somalia, but not Mandera,” he said.
Ethiopia has been holding talks with displaced Jubbaland forces in Suftu, aiming to fight Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) troops in Bula-Hawa.
Jubbaland Vice President Mohamud Sayid Aden is among the senior government officials from Kismayo who are now in Mandera. Sources reveal that Aden is coordinating plans to recapture Bula-Hawa from Mogadishu.
“You have a long border with Somalia that you can use. Don’t use Mandera as your support base,” Governor Khalif told Ethiopia.
This is not the first time the national government has hosted the Jubbaland forces in Mandera.
In 2020, the Jubbaland forces used Mandera to fight FGS troops who were trying to re-arrest Abdirsahid Janan, an escaped prisoner from Mogadishu who was hiding in a Mandera hotel.
