The International Court of justice (ICJ) has ruled against the republic of Kenya while maintaining that Somalia has full rights to oil and gas rich contested parts of the Indian ocean.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) was due to hand down its judgment today in a case filed by Somalia against Kenya over contested parts of the Indian Ocean believed to be rich in oil and gas.
The ruling comes in the wake of Nairobi last week announcing that it had revoked recognition of the court’s jurisdiction. The bitter dispute has dragged on ever since Somalia filed the case more than seven years ago.
The territory has also been attracting a lot of attention due to security threats from Somalia allegedly linked to the case.
This decision means that Somalia fully owns the rights to exploit oil and gas in the deep waters off the East African coastline.
However, it is likely that Kenya may not recognize whatever the decision having pulled out of the case citing biasness and compromise. Besides, president Uhuru Kenyatta had recently said that he would protect whatever God gave Kenya without asking for an extra inch.
“We know our borders and we don’t need an inch more, we are going to protect what God gave us.” Said the president recently.
At the same time, the ruling has potentially far-reaching consequences for bilateral ties in the East African region.
Other key components of the ICJ ruling are as follows:
“a) Court unanimously finds that there is no agreed maritime boundary between Somalia and Kenya as described by Kenya.
b) Court unanimously decides that starting point of boundary is intersection of the straight line extending from the final permanent boundary.”
c) “The court cannot conclude that activities carried out by Kenya in the disputed area    jeopardized the reaching of the final agreement. Therefore, the court finds that Kenya has not violated its international obligations.”
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