Nairobi, April 2 -- Kenya will not reopen its border posts with Somalia anytime soon because of the security implications of doing so at a time when the African Union peacekeeping mission in the neighbouring country is winding down.

Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo told Nation.Africa in an interview that the move was informed by the need to secure the country at all entry and exit points.

Dr Omollo's revelation comes nine months after his boss, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, and his Somali counterpart Mohamed Ahmed Sheikh Ali announced their intention to reopen the borders following high-level consultations in Nairobi, which would have ended a 12-year barricade that began in 2011.

With Kenya sharing some 800 kil...