SUNDAY EDITORIAL | Now, it is Kenya that wants direct interference in Somalia's intricate and unstable web of politics.

Foreign interference has been the single most motivating factor fuelling Islamist rebels fighting against the restoration of a national government in Somalia. The Ethiopian army's two-year military occupation of Mogadishu, the Somali capital, is still fresh in the minds of Somalis who have suffered nearly two decades of civil war, disease and drought. Somalia's new UN-backed interim government, led by Islamist politician Sheikh Sharif Ahmed as president, is militarily and financially weak and controls very little territory outside the capital.

Yet, the Kenyan government signed an agreement to "collect taxes" for Sheikh Sharif's weak government, in an effort to supposedly "prevent warlords" from making profit once the goods arrive in Somalia. This categorization of "warlords" implies that every political entity outside President Sheikh Sharif's camp is considered a warlord by the Kenyan government. Unfortunately, the reality in Somalia is that there are long-established and functioning sub-states – i.e. Somaliland and Puntland – as well as vast territories controlled by Islamist factions, who are overtly anti-President Sheikh Sharif.

If the original intention was to cut off financial support from Islamist rebels, then unfortunately the opposite might become true with Kenya' s tax collection scheme. The number one product airlifted from Kenya to Somali airports is the leafy narcotic drug khat, which is consumed widely across Somalia. If khat traders are taxed by Kenyan authorities, then it is likely that they will be taxed for a second time by authorities in Somaliland or Puntland, or Islamist groups in major cities like Kismayo. For the Islamists, it will become a win-win situation – because they despise khat and have banned its sale inside major towns. For political realities, like Somaliland and Puntland, regions which are considered part of Somalia under international law, then it is another reminder that the international community does not value the "building blocks" strategy that has thus far saved northern Somalia from the political anarchy and self-destruction of the south-central regions.

Centralism has failed in Somalia. Since 2004, a federal system of government has been adopted to uphold the Somali people's values of measured self-rule, using a mixture of Islamic law, local customs and international standards. Kenya's decision to collect taxes for Sheikh Sharif's government seems to be a backward step in the direction of central rule, when everything was ruled from Mogadishu. As such, the so-called agreement that would allow Nairobi to collect taxes for Mogadishu is a far-fetched dream that brings into question Kenya's questionable role in Somali internal affairs.

The Ethiopian troops came with their tanks and literally burned Mogadishu to the ground. Now, it is Kenya that wants direct interference in Somalia's intricate and unstable web of politics. If implemented, the "collect taxes for Somalia" scheme throws into question the sovereignty of Somalia, with an effect similar to Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu. It is a dangerous decision, because there are no warlords in Somalia today. For good or worse, the warlords were destroyed by the Islamists; it is a cheap excuse for Kenya and Sheikh Sharif's government to desperately find financial support as Islamist rebels gear up for a new war.

Not to mention the corruption in both Nairobi and Mogadishu.

Garowe Online Editorial, editorial@garoweonline.com