There is a "cynical smear campaign” intended to disparage Kenya’s military in the latest allegation of illicit trading in Somalia, Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo has said.

She was reacting to a report by the Journalists for Justice released on Thursday.

Omamo yesterday said the smuggling claims are untrue and a misrepresentation of facts.

"The report alleging KDF’s involvement in the charcoal and sugar trade in Kismayu is misplaced and ill-intentioned. KDF is not in control of the sea port nor are they charged with the management of the Kismayu port,” she said.

The CS said Kenya has made numerous appeals to the international community to resolve the charcoal issue in Kismayu but this has "fallen on deaf ears”.

Yesterday, the President of the semi-autonomous region of Jubaland, Sheikh Ahmed Madobe, dismissed the report as insulting.

"There is no way I can do business with my enemy,” he said in Nairobi.

"This is a direct insult to me and my administration. We are at the forefront in fighting al Shabaab militia and there is no way we can be working with them.”

Madobe, a close Kenya ally, is a former warlord and leader of the Ras Kamboni Brigade, which fought alongside KDF during the Operation Linda Nchi in 2011.

He said the report is "a repetition of previous false reports and allegations and offers nothing new”.

The report says the KDF, al Shabaab and Jubaland administration are involved in a sugar smuggling racket in Somalia.

The trade is estimated at about $400 million (Sh40.98 billion).

"The report authored by a British citizen fails to recognise the mandate and role of Amisom in Sector II operations and the rest of the country,” Madobe said.

Sector II Amisom forces and Somalia authorities do not have a maritime component to monitor Somalia’s 3,300km Indian Ocean coastline, necessary for curbing the trade, he said."As far as I am concerned, KDF continues to be a professional force since its entry into Somalia in 2011, and its presence in Jubaland has contributed towards the peace and security we are currently enjoying,” Madobe said.