Kenya loses bid to have maritime border case with Somalia delayed

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Kenya loses bid to have maritime border case with Somalia postponed for the fourth time. The case is scheduled to kick off on March 15. Kenya had cited covid-19 and the mysterious disappearance of a map as the main reasons.

On Saturday, the Hague-based UN judicial organ, the International Court of Justice [ICJ] has rejected Kenya's request to have the maritime delimitation case between Kenya and Somalia delayed.

The Federal government of Somalia will not accept efforts by Kenya to get again have the maritime border dispute postponed, Information Minister Osman Abukar Dubbe said, Thursday, in what could further derail the relationship between the two neighboring countries.

Kenya and Somalia are embroiled in a tough tussle over the control of the Indian Ocean maritime border, which has lasted for the last couple of years after the two nations failed to agree on personal terms over the oil-rich waters, which Mogadishu plans to auction.

The case was first filed in 2015 after Nairobi reportedly "engaged in delay tactics" according to sources privy to the matter. Kenya has tried to seek out of court settlement, but the move has severally failed to materialize, leading to the impasse at the International Court of Justice.

In a tough-worded tweet, Dubbe, a close friend of the outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, said Somalia is ready to face Kenya in The Hague-based court, adding that further delay would "deny" the Horn of Africa justice it "dearly" needs.

"We have rejected Kenya's fourth request to the ICJ to postpone the two countries' maritime case. Justice delayed is justice denied," said Dubbe, who has been issuing all statements with regard to the standoff with Kenya, including but not limited to the Gedo crisis.

"We should be set to head to the Hague court on the 15th of March come what may. Long live Somalia," added the minister, in a statement that could elicit a sharp reaction from Kenya, which hosts thousands of Somali refugees both in Dadaab and Kakuma Refugee Camps.

An application seen by Garowe Online showed that Kenya had reached out to the court seeking for postponement of the March hearing, citing the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic and a lost map, which it was set to use in court proceedings over the matter.

Previously, the case has been postponed thrice, including in September 2019 when Kenya reconstituted her legal team, forcing the judge to postpone to November.

After the successful application, Kenya also managed to secure postponement in June last year, citing the Covid-19 pandemic.

GAROWE ONLINE