Kenya deports Somalia's second deputy prime minister over alleged passport fraud

NAIROBI, June 26 - Kenya this week deported Somalia's second deputy prime minister back to his country for suspected fraudulent acquisition of a Kenyan passport, a police report showed on Friday.

Jibril Abdirashid Haji arrived at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Wednesday afternoon with a valid visa in his Somali diplomatic passport, but during an immigration inspection he was suspected of having fraudulently acquired a Kenyan passport, the police report said.

"When interrogated he admitted, and when asked to produce the passport he declined to surrender (it) and claimed that he can only produce it in a court of law," the report added.

Reuters could not reach Haji or Somalia's information minister for comment.

The second deputy prime minister was held in a VIP lounge at the Nairobi airport and issued with a return ticket to Mogadishu. His plane left early on Thursday morning, the police report said.

Kenya hosts a large Somali community and contributes troops to peacekeeping missions in the Horn of Africa country. REUTERS