by Janeffer Katila
Friday September 12, 2025
A photo of Somalia’s Ambassador to Kenya, Jibril Ibrahim Abdulle, meeting with Somali entrepreneurs on September 11, 2025, PHOTO/Somalia in Kenya
Mogadishu (HOL) — A diplomatic rift has erupted between Somalia’s embassies in Tanzania and Kenya over which mission has authority to represent Mogadishu’s interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Somali Embassy in Dar es Salaam said it was blindsided by a recent visit to Kinshasa by Ambassador Jabriil Ibrahim Abdulle, Somalia’s envoy to Kenya, who led a joint Somali-Kenyan trade delegation. In a statement posted to Facebook, the embassy said, “The Democratic Republic of Congo falls under the jurisdiction of Somalia’s federal government in matters concerning the state and its citizens. The reported trip… was undertaken without sharing any information with this embassy. Such actions fall outside diplomatic protocol and the regulations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
Abdulle defended the trip, saying it stemmed from yearlong negotiations involving Somali businesspeople in Kenya and the DRC Embassy in Nairobi. The Somali Embassy in Nairobi, in its own Facebook post, described the mission as a success, noting, “A delegation of Somali businesspeople received a warm welcome in Kinshasa. The trip followed a year of meetings facilitated by the DRC Embassy in Kenya with Somali businesspeople based in Kenya, supported by Somalia’s Embassy in Nairobi.”
The Nairobi embassy added that Somali traders in the DRC face challenges across sectors such as fuel, vehicles, and cross-border trade involving Congo, Kenya, Zambia, and South Sudan. It stated that the visit included meetings with Congolese officials, banks, licensing agencies, and business leaders to address these problems. “Somalia’s accession to the East African Community has further encouraged Somali entrepreneurs to extend their businesses into regional markets,” the statement said.
The embassy in Nairobi also pointed to past successes, saying it had previously helped secure the release of Somali traders detained in the DRC.
The clash between the two Somali missions highlights a lack of clarity within Mogadishu’s foreign service over which embassy is formally mandated to cover Congolese affairs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which oversees both embassies, has not commented publicly.