Kenya detains Somali PM’s wife at airport for bullets’ possession

Tuesday, August 18, 2015—Kenya’s security forces have arrested the wife of the Somali prime minister after police found bullets in her luggage at Jomo Kenyatta international airport over the weekend, officials and local media said Tuesday.

Mrs. Asha Yasin Hassan was travelling to the United States to attend an international conference when she was stopped by security agents after one scan machine detected 16 bullets in her luggage before she was to board a plane, Nairobi News reports.

Mrs. Yasin was released on bail to resume her journey, as she would have to face trial at the Nairobi magistrate court upon her return to Kenya, according Joseph Nthenge, the deputy police chief for JKIA airport.

It’s unclear if the Somali prime minister’s wife would come back for the trial. However, security officials at Joko Kenyatta airport said they were surprised by the reason the top Somali official’s wife was carrying the ammunition in her bag.

Officials at the Somalia mission in Kenya declined to give comment on the incident.

It’s not the first time high-level Somali officials were arrested in possession with arms at the JKIA airport. In 2008, security forces have arrested a Somali parliamentarian after a pistol was found in his luggage.

In addition to the stringent security measures in place at Kenyan airports, flights from the war-torn Somalia are subject to random searches on travelers and carry-on luggage from the neighboring country where the al-Qaeda linked militants who carried out numerous deadly attacks in Kenya remain a security threat to both countries.

Also, Flights from Somalia must stop at Wajir airport to go through security checks before proceeding to Nairobi airports.