The Kenya Times
By Michael Owino
Monday February 24, 2025
Former Somalia Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble. PHOTO/Roble
Former Somalia Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble had been reportedly denied a visa application for intending to travel to South Africa while in Nairobi.
The South African High Commission in Nairobi reportedly denied his visa application. Additionally, it was reported that the Somali government suspended Roble’s diplomatic passport, and his request to the Somali Embassy in Nairobi was also denied.
However, Somalia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, dismissed these claims in an interview with VOA America, stating that the issue originated from the South African side, rather than the Somali government.
“We issued the letter that former Prime Minister Roble requested. It is not true that the Somali government refused to provide a recommendation letter for his visa application,” Fiqi said.
Somalia Government Denies Involvement in Former Somali PM Delegation Visa Denial in NairobiEarlier, the Somali government, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sent a letter to the South African High Commission in Nairobi, listing six officials who were part of Roble’s delegation to South Africa. This letter was dated February 1, 2025.
An official from the Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speaking on condition of anonymity, indicated that the visa applications were halted because South African authorities raised concerns about certain individuals on the list, citing alleged links to terrorist networks and drug smuggling in Somalia.
“The issue was that some of the names raised red flags, which is why South Africa did not accept the visa applications for the six individuals. Only the former prime minister was approved,” the official said.
The former Prime Minister did not respond to queries regarding the denial of his delegation’s visa application but according to his close aide and former minister, Abdullahi Arab, suggested that the visa denial for Roble’s delegation was a “targeted action orchestrated by Mogadishu.”
According to Arab, Roble resorted to using his Swedish passport.
About Mohamed Hussein Roble
Mohamed Hussein Roble is a Somali politician who served as the Prime Minister of Somalia from September 23, 2020, to June 25, 2022.
Born in Hobyo in February 1968, Roble earned a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Somali National University and a Master of Arts in environmental and sustainable engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.
Prior to his appointment as Prime Minister, Roble worked as an NGO worker and served as a technical advisor for engineering at the International Labour Organization.