By Lisa Murimi
In a rare and candid admission, Kenya’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director-General Noordin Haji told Parliament on Monday that the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), an armed Ethiopian rebel group, is occupying parts of Kenyan territory.
“For the first time, we are admitting what has long been denied,” Haji told the National Assembly’s Defence and Foreign Relations Committee.
“The Oromo Liberation Army is occupying our territory—and we are forced to deal with them.”
Haji’s testimony sharply contradicts previous government statements, which downplayed the OLA’s presence as minor infiltration.
His remarks signal a significant escalation in Kenya’s official stance on cross-border threats.
He warned of growing insecurity along borders with Uganda, South Sudan, and Ethiopia, where foreign militias engage in cattle rustling, arms smuggling, and raids.
“Kenya is facing threats from all corners,” he added, notably excluding Tanzania.
Recent clashes in Moyale, a town near the Ethiopia-Kenya border, have seen security forces confront suspected OLA fighters in what officials now describe as an armed occupation.
The revelation has intensified ongoing security operations in Isiolo and Marsabit under Operation Ondoa Jangili.
The OLA, which operates from Ethiopia’s Oromia region, has been linked to kidnappings and assassinations, and reportedly handed over South Korean hostages to Al-Shabaab last year.
While the Kenyan government has yet to respond to OLA’s claims of civilian targeting, Haji’s public statement suggests a new urgency in Nairobi’s approach to border security—and a shift from quiet diplomacy to direct confrontation.
