The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Mohammed Farmajo, on Tuesday October 12 , issued a statement following the ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on a maritime dispute.
In its ruling, the ICJ ruled that Kenya will give up part of the disputed maritime territory to Somalia. The court ruled that there was no Memorundum of Understanding (MoU) between Kenya and Somalia.
Farmajo, who welcomed the Court's verdict, termed it a historic moment, after a protracted legal battle with the Kenyan government to claim parts of the country's maritime territory.
"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 defense of the nation and its people. Justice has prevailed. Law and order have prevailed," he stated.
He thanked the ICJ for upholding the rule of law, adding that ruling exemplified the integrity and transparency of the international court. The Somali leader expressed gratitude to the country's eighth parliament, which rejected the MOU instead adopting the “inheritance protection” resolution.
Farmajo thanked his predecessor, Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, for initiating the Court process to seek justice and protect Somalia’s maritime borders which were unlawfully claimed by Kenya. He alleged that Somalia had been under enormous pressure from Kenya to surrender the disputed territory.
"The Kenyan leadership started to directly intervene in our country’s political process by mobilizing political groups in Kenya in order to create an atmosphere of chaos and political instability in Somalia that would ultimately lead to the withdrawal of the case from the Court," the statement read in part.
He claimed that after botched pressure tactics, the Kenyan government resorted to direct violations of Somalia's sovereignty. He accused Kenya of spending time and resources in a campaign to politically isolate Somalia, painting a distorted picture of the nation to neighboring countries, and to the international community.
Moghadishu accused Nairobi of waging a military campaign violating its nation’s sovereignty and the public interest of the Somali people.
"This military campaign included indiscriminate air and land strikes inside Somalia’s borders. These strikes targeted the lives and properties of Somali citizens," Farmajo reiterated.
He further accused Kenya of waging a strong campaign at the United Nations to place Somalia under the UNSC 1267 resolution which would have facilitated the labeling of Somali business community, government officials and humanitarian workers as antagonists, allow for the arbitrary confiscation and freezing of their assets and ultimately cripple the country’s economy.
Farmaajo accused the Kenyan government of arm-twisting the Somali leadership to sit at the negotiation table and facilitate the looting of Somalia’s maritime resources. He claimed that on several instances, it promised to facilitate better relations between the federal government and the government of Jubaland state if we were willing to withdraw the case from the ICJ.
Just like his Kenyan counterpart, Farmajo vowed to uphold the trust placed in us by the Somali public. "Our moral standards will never allow us to choose political or economic benefits or even short-term positions of power over the inheritance of our future generations," he stated.
"We hope that Kenya will treat the Court’s decision as an opportunity to strengthen relations between the two countries and enhance cooperation between the two peoples," the statement read in part.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has vowed to protect the country’s territorial boundaries. He assured Kenyans of his commitment to solve this issue amicably.
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