Somalia’s selfish move at the International Criminal of Justice (ICJ) to further expand its territorial waters almost made the Republic of Kenya a landlocked nation.
According to the Daily Nation, Somalia went to The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2014 demanding that the the boundary runs equidistant or a median from from land border and further wanted Kenya punished for conducting activities in the disputed area.
This move would have seen Kenya become not only landlocked but also poor since the country would depend on neighboring countries and even pay dearly for its sea imports and exports.
However, the court dismissed Somalia’s selfish move because it would have the net effect of making the Republic of Kenya landlocked since there would be zero access to the waters.
The ruling by the 15 ICJ judges unanimously concluded that the geographical area between Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania was such that the Somalia’s boundary claim would meet Tanzania’s and disadvantage Kenya.
“The cut off effect of Kenya cannot be examined coast of Kenya and Somalia in isolation. When the main land of Kenya, Somali and Tanzania are observed together as a whole, the coast is in no doubt a concave. Kenya faces a cut off its marine entitlement as the middle state located between Somalia and Tanzania.” Read ICJ’s president Joan Donoghue.
“The provisional equidistant line between Somalia and Kenya progressively narrows the coastal projection of Kenya, substantially reducing its maritime entitlements within 200 nautical miles. This cut-off effect occurs as a result of the configuration of the coastline extending from Somalia to Tanzania, independence of the boundary line agreed between Kenya and Tanzania, which in fact mitigates that effect in the South, in the exclusive economic zone and on the continental shelf up to 200 nautical miles.” Added the judge.
However, president Uhuru Kenyatta may not respect yesterday’s ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that has worked in favor of the neighboring Somalia.
On Friday last week, Kenya made it clear that it rejected the jurisdiction of the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ), ahead of the ruling which was delivered on Tuesday.
As a result, the decision to withdraw from this case implies that Kenya under the leadership of president Uhuru Kenyatta will give the ruling a wide berth and continue defending its borders 58 years after Independence.
“In addition to withdrawing its participation from the current case, Kenya… also joined many other members of the United Nations in withdrawing its recognition of the court’s compulsory jurisdiction,” the foreign ministry said.
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