There was drama at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport when three Somalis who had been deported from Germany and Austria were denied entry to Mogadishu.
The three had arrived aboard a commercial flight, escorted by German and Austrian security agents, when they landed at JKIA on December 9, 2025.
They were processed by airport officials who sought clearance from Somalia. The officials were, however, shocked when the Somali authorities denied entry to the country plane that was carrying the three Somalis and had been deported for various reasons.
After hours of unsuccessful discussion over the deportees, the plane left JKIA with them to Austria where they originated, officials said.
The plane left JKIA back to Austria on Wednesday December 10 at night, officials said.
It is not clear what prompted the Somalia officials to deny entry of their nationals.
This comes amid rising cases of deportations from the US and especially of Somalis, South Sudanese and some Kenyans.
On November 14, 2025 a US chartered plane arrived at JKIA from the USA with eight Somali deportees who included two women. They later left for Mogadishu.
On November 7, 2025 another plane had arrived with eight Somali deportees. They were cleared to fly to Mogadishu on a commercial flight.
On December 3, 2025, another plane arrived with eight South Sudanese men who had been deported from the US. They were later cleared and landed in Juba.
On July 18, 2025 another plane had landed at JKIA with 61 deportees who included five Kenyans, 26 Somalis, eight South Sudanese and 22 Ethiopians.
The US government has been targeting illegal immigrants in a drive that has shocked many. This has seen hundreds of foreigners being deported.
Some of the deportees had open legal cases while others, according to their lawyers and immigrant advocacy groups, had not been given a fair hearing by immigration judges appointed by the justice department.
At least 15 Kenyans living in the United States are among individuals branded the “worst of the worst”.
This is after they were arrested pending deportation by the Trump administration.
The 14 men and one woman find themselves on an initial list of 10,000 whose names, images and criminal histories have been published by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on a webpage called “Worst of the Worst,” which was launched on Monday.
The crimes for which they are listed include driving under the influence, fraud and robbery.
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