Although Immigration minister Otieno Kajwang’ professed ignorance of alleged recruitment of Kenyan Somalis to fight for Somalia Transitional Federation Government, his descriptions of the situation at the country’s entry points from Somalia painted a gloomy picture.

He said the closure of the border post at Liboi had not helped stem the tide, but had instead resulted in the commercialisation of the illegal entry points by unscrupulous people. “There is a serious human catastrophe here but we don’t know what we can do about it,” said the Mbita MP at Continental House on Tuesday.

This illustrates the ease with which Kenyans can pass of as Somalis and vice versa. The issue of Kenya’s porous border with Somalia has returned to the limelight amid reports that Kenyan youth had been recruited to fight on behalf of the transitional Somali Government.

Mt Elgon MP Fred Kapondi, who chairs the Parliamentary Security Committee, said a visit to Daadab at the weekend had shown that it was easy for a Kenyan to enter the camp and register as a refugee.

Summoned

Mr Kajwang’ was the third member of the Cabinet to be summoned by the parliamentary committees on Administration and National Security and Defence and Foreign Relations. Defence minister Yusuf Haji faced the team on Monday while Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang’ula also has a date with the MPs.

Mr Kajwang’ said he had protested after North Eastern provincial commissioner James ole Seriani imposed a ban on the issuance of identity cards in the province last month but admitted he could do little about the situation.

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Source: Daily Nation Kenya