Kenya to ignore ICJ judgement on maritime border dispute with Somalia

Kenya has affirmed that it will not accept the International Court of Justice( ICJ) ruling on the maritime dispute with Somalia.

In a statement on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs termed the ruling set for next week as "culmination of a flawed judicial process that Kenya has had reservations with,"

The 13 judge bench made of a Somali national and Presided over by American  Joan Donoghue is set to rule on the matter on Tuesday, next week.

"The delivery of the Judgment will be the culmination of a flawed judicial process that Kenya has had reservations with, and withdrawn from, on account not just of its obvious and inherent bias but also of its unsuitability to resolve the dispute at hand,” said Foreign Affairs PS Amb. Macharia Kamau in a statement 

The government has maintained that the matter should be resolved amongst the nations amicably.

“Kenya has been and continues to thrive as a beacon of peace and stability in the region and beyond… It is in this context that Kenya had maintained – even before Somalia filed the current case – that any dispute between the two countries regarding their maritime boundary should be resolved through amicable negotiations. In fact, in 2009, the two countries entered into an agreement on how and when to amicably address matters concerning the maritime boundary,” the Ministry added.

Mogadishu had demanded a review of the 160,000 square kilometers maritime boundaries in what could alter the ocean for both countries should be ICJ rule in favour of Somalia.