MOGADISHU, (HAN) — A diplomatic dispute has surfaced between Somalia’s embassy in Tanzania and its embassy in Kenya over who holds the official mandate to represent Somalia’s interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Somali Embassy in Tanzania has asserted that the Federal Government of Somalia assigned it responsibility for Somalia’s diplomatic and consular affairs in the DRC. The mission said it was caught by surprise when Somalia’s Ambassador to Kenya, Jabril Ibrahim Abdulle, made an unannounced trip to Kinshasa.
Ambassador Abdulle led a delegation of Somali and Kenyan businesspeople during his visit, which quickly sparked public debate on Somali social media and was widely covered in local media outlets.
The Tanzanian-based embassy criticized the move, saying it had not been consulted or notified beforehand, and described the visit as a breach of diplomatic norms and Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs protocol.
For his part, Ambassador Abdulle defended his visit, stating that he had traveled to Kinshasa to advance talks that had been ongoing for a year between the DRC embassy in Nairobi and members of the Somali business community based in Kenya.
The disagreement has exposed confusion within Somalia’s diplomatic service over jurisdiction and representation in the DRC. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mogadishu — which oversees both embassies — has not yet issued an official statement addressing the dispute.
Analysts say the standoff underscores the need for clearer coordination within Somalia’s foreign missions to avoid overlapping mandates that risk undermining the country’s diplomatic credibility abroad.
