ICJ will announce verdict on Somalia-Kenya maritime case - deputy PM

The sea row case has damaged the diplomatic relations between the two East African countries after Kenya pushed for outside court resolution. 

News Keydmedia Online
20 September 2021

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somali Deputy PM Mahdi Guled announced that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague will rule on the maritime dispute with Kenya on Oct.12.

The ICJ heard the maritime delimitation case in March 2021 without the presence of Kenya's legal team, a move that triggered an escalation of a diplomatic spat between the two nations.

Nairobi has long sought to settle the dispute over more than 100,000 sq KM of oil and gas-rich sea border in the Indian Ocean out of the UN court. Its efforts didn't bear fruits. 

The relations between neighboring countries hit a new low in December 2020 when Farmajo's administration cut off ties with Nairobi, citing frequent interference in internal politics.

Kenyan troops serving under AU mission in Somalia [AMISOM] are based in Jubaland and their protection of Ahmed Madobe was one of the major reasons leading to the diplomatic rift.

Farmajo, who is running for re-election this year, has been using nationalist language on the maritime boundary dispute case at the ICJ, a move that many believed to be a campaign trail.

KEYDMEDIA English