President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya has said late on Tuesday that he is not surprised at the decision of the International Court of Justice -ICJ ruling that decided mostly in favour of Somalia in the ongoing maritime row.
Kenyatta however said that it is profoundly concerned by the import of the decision and its implications for the Horn of Africa region, and international law generally and that it rejects in totality the findings in the ICJ decision and it does not recognize saying that it would potentially aggravate the peace and security situation in the fragile Horn of Africa Region.
Somalia, which welcomed the ruling, filed the case in 2014 at the United Nations’ highest court dealing with disputes between states.
While Kenyatta has described the ruling as a zero-sum game that would strain relations between Kenya and Somalia, he said Kenya aimed to resolve the dispute diplomatically.
While Admiral Abdi Hamiid Mohamed Ahmed, a commander of Somalia’s marine forces, said they were ready to guard their territorial waters, the Kenyan government said as a key proponent of respect for the principle of subsidiarity says it will resolve the matter through the institutions of the African Union … in addition to other bilateral arrangements.
Yesterday’s ruling came after Nairobi last week said it had revoked recognition of the court’s compulsory jurisdiction.
