Kenya-Somalia Maritime Boundary Dispute (Commissioned Story for ICJ, Edit and VO by Robert Kodingo)
Kenya’s move to reject UN’s top court decision on its tiff with Somalia over maritime borders, pundits have said, could fuel more tension given Kenya’s previous incursion into the country in the war against terror.
The International Court of Justice ruled largely in favour of Somalia in setting a maritime boundary in an area of about 38,000 square miles believed to be rich in oil and gas.
The ruling was made over a dispute that stems from a disagreement over which direction their border extends into the Indian Ocean.
Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta in a statement said that “the decision was clearly erroneous”. Initially, Kenya, on the 24th September, 2021, withdrew its recognition of the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ.
During the hearing the 14-judge panel of the international court had also rejected an argument by Somalia that Kenya had violated its sovereignty by operating in its territorial waters.
Somalia's Information Minister, Osman Dubbe, on twitter, welcomed the ruling and congratulated Somalis on regaining their territory.