A post by a local politician, Cornelius Ronoh Kipchumba, dated Thursday, October 14, claiming that the United States government rejected the ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the maritime delimitation case between Kenya and Somalia is false.
The politician, while using the #Hatupeani (We are not bowing down), alleged that the US under President Joe Biden opposed the ruling which saw Kenya ordered to cede a section of the Indian Ocean to Somalia.
“Kenya has been pushing for a “diplomatic solution” as it has done for years. Thank you, US for standing with the truth,” Ronoh tweeted.
He added a screengrab of an article he claimed was published by CNBC - an American pay television business news channel owned by NBCUniversal News Group, to support his claim.
The title of the screengrab was: US Rejects International Court of Justice Ruling Against Kenya.
A Google reverse image search of the photo (alleged CNBC article) indicated that it was shared twice by one Twitter user called Brian Mogeni who describes himself as the Secretary General of an unverified or unidentified organisation dubbed AEESA.
Mogeni while sharing the photo tweeted two subsequent posts here at 7:03am on Thursday, October 14 and here, four minutes later on the same day.
In the first post, using the #Hatupeani, he tweeted that: “Further, based on the ICJ’s improprieties, and to avert the risk of another imposed jurisdiction, Kenya, on September 24, 2021, withdrew its recognition of the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ1."
The second post read: “The ICJ ruling will have no impacts on Kenya or Somalia. Because the court doesn’t have an enforcement mechanism like police or army to force Kenya to comply.”
The alleged CNBC article was also tweeted here by a Twitter user who stated: “The court has rendered its judgment. Somalia believes Kenya should respect the ruling while Kenya says that she has all the right to protect her territory and by all means necessary.”
First, the alleged article by CNBC was falsified as the image was altered to suit the ICJ’s ruling. The image was photoshopped as the article does not exist.
The original article by CNBC used in the photoshopped image dated Friday, October 5, 2018, is titled US rejects International Court of Justice ruling on Iran, continuing its isolationist charge.
The article noted that the US (under then President, Donald Trump) rejected an International Court of Justice ruling mandating that its sanctions allow exemptions for exports of humanitarian and civil aviation supplies to Iran, saying those protections are already in place.
“Top American officials chastised what they called Tehran’s 'abuse' of the ICJ, with National Security Advisor, John Bolton, announcing the US would abandon the “optional protocol” under the UN’s Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and a 63-year old 'amity treaty' with Iran.”
“The move highlights the Trump administration’s focus on sovereignty over multilateralism, deepening worries among Western allies over Trump’s disparagement of international institutions,” an excerpt of the article reads.
Second, the US did not issue a statement on the ICJ court ruling. However, US President Joe Biden met with Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday, October 14 at the White House. The two spoke on trade, Covid-19 pandemic, terrorism and mutual interests between Kenya and the US.
Biden hailed Kenya's steadfastness in safeguarding regional stability and advancing democracy saying the Kenya-US partnership was key in addressing global peace and security challenges.
"And, you know, the US-Kenya strategic partnership is essential - we both, I think, believe is essential to addressing key regional and global challenges."
"And I want to thank Kenya - thank you for your leadership in defending the peace, security, and democratic instincts of the region and your country. You’re doing a heck of a job," President Biden stated.
Prior to the meeting, President Uhuru Kenyatta issued a statement on the ICJ ruling, rejected the verdict and vowed to protect Kenya’s territorial boundaries at all cost.
In the televised statement on Tuesday, October 12, Uhuru stated that Kenya rejected in totality and does not recognize the findings in the ICJ decision.
“Fellow Kenyans, when I became President on April 9, 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."
“As your President, I want to assure you of my commitment to solve this issue amicably and urge you all to remain calm as my Government remains fully seized of the matter,” he underlined.
His Somali counterpart, Mohammed Farmajo, contradicted and urged Kenya to honour the court’s verdict.
"It was indeed a just struggle that was based on a long vision, a deep knowledge, bravery, patriotism, the protection of public assets, and the defence of the nation and its people. Justice has prevailed. Law and order have prevailed," he stated in the statement dated Tuesday, October 12.
Kenya indicated that it would pursue other avenues to solve the matter. This includes seeking the intervention of the United Nations, the United Nations Security Council as well as the African Union’s Peace and Security Council and the African Union Border Programme.
Therefore, claims that the US rejected the International Court of Justice ruling against Kenya are false and misleading.
The alleged CNBC article reporting the same is also fake as the image was altered.
This fact-check was produced by Kenyans.co.ke's John Mbati in partnership with Code for Africa with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie.