Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko on Tuesday expressed rare advice to President Uhuru Kenyatta regarding Kenya’s foreign policy.
In a series of tweets published on his social media account, Sonko called for Kenya to play hardball when dealing with the neighbouring countries.
The outspoken senator was reacting after a number of stories emerged on different incidents where Kenyan citizens had been harassed in South Sudan and in Ethiopia.
“Uganda grabs our island, South Sudan jails our citizens & now Ethiopia's Gibe III dam will make Lake Turkana disappear. They don’t respect us,” Sonko stated in his first tweet.
He added, “our neighbours are no longer friendly towards us. Kenya has been too lenient and they think our leniency is weakness. Time to play hardball.”
Uganda and Kenya have had a long-lasting dispute over the Migingo Island that is claimed by both countries.
While the territorial maps have shown Migingo to be Kenyan territory, Uganda has been able to send its police officers to the highly populated island in circumstances that remain unclear.
On the other hand, Ethiopia has launched the Gibe III dam that seeks to tap water from Omo River – thus restraining water from getting to Lake Turkana that is the lifeline of the Kenyan communities living around the lake.
In light of the cases highlighted, the Nairobi senator asked President Kenyatta, as the custodian of Kenya’s foreign policy, to change how Kenya deals with its neighbours.
“As a country under siege from our hostile 'neighbours', the time has come to adjust our foreign policy to; ‘we'll treat you how you treat us’,” Sonko stated.
