Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre has directed all Cabinet ministers and senior government officials to use only Federal Government of Somalia passports when traveling on official state business, saying the measure is intended to protect the dignity and reputation of the Somali state.
“Ministers and senior government officials must travel using the Federal Government of Somalia passport to uphold the dignity, prestige and reputation of the Somali state,” Barre told the Cabinet during its weekly meeting in Mogadishu.
The directive reinforces President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s recent order requiring senior officials holding foreign passports, particularly Kenyan travel documents, to surrender them or leave public office.
The move follows a diplomatic dispute with Kenya after two senior Somali officials were reportedly denied entry at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport over questions surrounding Kenyan passports they were carrying.
Deputy Prime Minister Abdirashid Jibril Haji later announced that he had returned his Kenyan passport after visiting the Kenyan Embassy in Mogadishu.
Haji said he had obtained the document “legally” through his ancestral lineage, but added that he had decided to renounce his Kenyan citizenship because of the circumstances that had emerged.
The issue has prompted broader debate over dual citizenship among senior Somali officials.
While Somalia’s legal framework permits dual nationality, the presidential directive specifically targets the use and possession of foreign travel documents by senior government officials while they remain in office.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet reviewed preparations for Somalia’s third-generation polycarbonate electronic passport.
The government says the new document will strengthen travel security, reduce forgery and modernize passport services as part of wider efforts to strengthen state institutions and improve Somalia’s international standing.