Terror suspect seeks dual citizenship

By WAHOME THUKU

Kenya: A man accused of carrying out terrorism activities in Kenya and Britain is fighting to secure Kenyan citizenship.

Abdi Bashir alias Cabdiqani Bashir Mohamed, 40, a British citizen, claims he is also Kenyan by birth and entitled to dual citizenship under the new Constitution.

Through his father, Bashir Mohammed Jama, the man has sued the Kenyan Government for denying him entry into the country in July last year and deporting him to the UK.

However, the Kenyan Immigration Services Department says Cabdiqani was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, and holds a British passport hence not entitled to enter Kenya.

Senior immigrations officer Alfred Abuya says British authorities are looking for the man over allegations of terrorism activities in the two countries. Cabdiqani was born on June 29, 1973.

His father and mother, Halima Jama, are Kenyan citizens and live in Nairobi’s South B estate.

Then named Abdi Bashir, the man was issued with his first Kenyan passport on September 7, 1989, which was renewed in 1994. The following year he relocated to the UK and assumed the name Cabdiqani Bashir.

In January 2002, he was naturalised as a British citizen and later issued with a British passport that indicates he was born in Mogadishu. The passport was subsequently renewed and the latest expires on June 5, 2018. In 2003, he returned to Kenya with his family and settled in South B.

His father claims that between February and May 2012, his son was processing documents to get dual citizenship and a Kenyan identity card but had to return to Britain for his brother’s burial.

While he was away in London, the Kenyan immigrations department received communication informing them that Cabdiqani was in a terrorists’ watch list.