What was meant to be a meeting to address the pressing challenges confronting the Somali community in Mombasa took an unexpected turn on Sunday when the gathering, convened under the banner of the Mombasa Somali Community Association, departed from its stated purpose and headed in a direction the attendees had not anticipated.
According to insiders, the agenda was to discuss key issues affecting the community, among them the business environment, political opportunities, housing and planning permits, and the general welfare of Somalis in the region.
That plan, however, was largely abandoned as all speakers turned the forum into a platform for endorsing Governor Abdulswamad Nassir's second-term bid, as one speaker after another threw their weight behind his re-election.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale also set the agenda aside to endorse Nassir for re-election. He used the platform to preach unity among pastoralists, but conspicuously failed to address the burning issue of livestock killings by suspected police officers.
Just last week, herders in Samburu East accused GSU and Anti-Stock Theft Unit officers of shooting dead 517 animals, 415 goats and 102 cattle, during a September 19 security operation in Waso ward.
In West Pokot's Masol area, herders also accused police of spraying bullets on 119 cows in broad daylight.
Pastoralist communities are demanding compensation and a probe by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), yet Duale said nothing about it.
The CS, who has been in politics for more than 25 years and served under Presidents Mwai Kibaki, Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto, also praised the current administration for removing vetting requirements for identification documents, saying it had made it easier for Somalis and Muslims to access IDs, passports and birth certificates.
"When President Ruto removed vetting, they said he was bringing people from Somalia. Now I want to state outrightly that we will bring in Somalis from Somalia," he said, adding that he would work with Mombasa businessman Abubakar Joho to mobilize support for Ruto from the neighbouring country.
The meeting then took a dramatic turn when businessman Abubakar Joho, brother to Mining CS Ali Hassan Joho, publicly admitted to smuggling refugees from Somalia into Kenya in 1992.
Joho claimed that he, Duale, and CS Joho used to smuggle Somalis at night through the Mombasa Old Port in Old Town, reportedly under the protection of the late KANU stalwart and Mvita MP Shariff Nassir, who was Governor Abdulswamad Nassir's father.
Joho said the three were not politicians at the time but helped Somali refugees because they considered them members of the same community, and that the late Shariff Nassir helped them secure documentation for the new arrivals. He urged the Somali community to remain united and to support President Ruto in the 2027 elections.
The insiders also said only two elected leaders, Governor Nassir and Mombasa Woman Representative Zamzam Mohammed, were present. UDA Secretary General Hassan Omar, who was in Mombasa, did not attend the meeting, though he is a senior government operative in the region.
Governor Nassir, for his part, called for an approach that focuses on equal treatment of all Kenyans regardless of their identity, saying no citizen should be casually labelled a terrorist or treated as a refugee in their own country.
The remarks have sparked anger among Somalis in Mombasa, who insist that refugees arriving in 1992 came through official UN channels and were settled in the Utange area.
"Abu's confession shows how he built his wealth through illegal backdoor deals. Roping in Duale also shows he cannot be trusted," a source said.
"They have admitted to smuggling people, which amounts to human trafficking. They have also admitted that their port business has always revolved around smuggling," the source added.