Head of State Uhuru Kenyatta [Photo: Pan African Visions]
President Uhuru Kenyatta has rejected the International Court of Justice judgment on the Kenya-Somalia maritime border dispute.
The President also accused the court of failing to permit the use and exhaustion of regional dispute resolution mechanisms.
“At the outset, Kenya wishes to indicate that it rejects in totality and does not recognize the findings in the decision. The decision embodies a perpetuation of the ICJ’s jurisdictional overreach and raises a fundamental question on the respect of the sovereignty and consent of States to international judicial processes,” said President Uhuru
According to Uhuru the ICJ ruling will strain relations between Kenya and Somalia, “This decision is, in the circumstances, a zero-sum game, which will strain the relations between the two countries. It will also reverse the social, political and economic gains; and potentially aggravate the peace and security situation in the fragile Horn of Africa Region.
The Head of States said Kenya will pursue the matter through the institutions of the African Union such as the African Union Border Programme in addition to other bilateral arrangements.
President Uhuru also maintained that he will stand by his oath of office to protect the country’s territorial integrity.
“Fellow Kenyans, when I became President on 9th April 2013, I took an oath to protect the territorial integrity of the Republic of Kenya. I do not intend to abrogate my solemn oath; and, I will do everything possible as President and Commander-in-Chief, to preserve the territory of this our great Republic and bequeath the same, intact and unencumbered, to the next President when my term expires in less than a year’s time,” said the President.
This comes after the International Court of Justice its ruling on Tuesday largely favored Somalia in the dispute with Kenya, setting a sea boundary in part of the Indian Ocean believed to be rich in oil and gas.