| Mohamed Yusuf Haji محمد يوسف حاجي |
|
|---|---|
| Minister of State for Defence | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 8 January 2008 |
|
| Member of Parliament, Ijara Constituency | |
| In office 2007–2008 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Kenya African National Union |
Mohamed Yusuf Haji (Somali: Maxamed Yuusuf Xaaji, Arabic: محمد يوسف حاجي) is an ethnic Somali politician based in Kenya.[1]
Haji was born to an Ogaden Darod family, the same Somali clan as the former Defense Minister of Somalia, Mohamed Abdi Gandhi.[2]
Haji is a member of the Kenya African National Union (KANU) political party, and was elected to represent the Ijara Constituency in the National Assembly of Kenya at the 2007 parliamentary elections.[3]
He also served as an Assistant Minister in the Office of the President from 1998-2001 and as the Minister of State (Cabinet Affairs) Office of the President in the year 2002. On 8th January 2008, Haji was appointed the Minister of State for Defence after the 27th December 2007 general elections.[4]
In October 2011, in a coordinated support operation with the Somali army, Haji spearheaded an incursion of Kenyan army troops into neighboring Somalia to pursue Islamist militants from the Al-Shabaab group that had allegedly kidnapped several foreign workers in Kenya.[5]