OPINION (Halbeeg News) – The move by Kenya Monday to deny Somali minister and senators entry to attend an international conference despite the three holding diplomatic passports is yet another scheme by Kenya to intimidate Somalia.
Under rules of bilateral engagements between countries, diplomatic passport holders who include senior government officials are exempted from visa conditions.
Both Kenya and Somalia have had such a bilateral relationship for decades, and Kenyan diplomatic passport holders travel to Somalia without the demand for visas.
But the decision by Nairobi to unilaterally go against such bilateral relationship is not any strange for Somalia and Somalis since such has been the trend and practice Kenya has perfected in the last one year.
After failing to cajole Somalia into an out of court settlement in the ongoing maritime case in the International Court of Justice, Kenya has now resorted to unorthodox means of dispute resolution. It has deployed all machinery at hand to frustrate Somalia and its citizens pulling one attack strategy after another.
Nairobi went on the offensive in mid-February recalling its ambassador to Somalia and sending back out Somalia’s ambassador in what will go down as one of the diplomatic immaturity by Nairobi in recent memory.
This came after a very condescending letter from foreign affairs principle secretary Macharia Kamau making unwarranted accusations against Somalia that it auctioned oil blocks in the contested territory during the London oil conference in February.
The Somali government was, however, straightforward that none of the maps displayed during the conference included that of the contested zone in the Indian Ocean border.
Fast forward to May 9, 2019. Kenya Civil Aviation Authority announced a suspension of direct flights to Mogadishu forcing travelers from Somalia to stop over in Wajir Airport before heading to Nairobi.
This was a calculated move to hurt Somalia in the hope that it would give in, but Somalia has remained defiant holding on to its earlier position that the maritime case can only be disposed of in The Hague.
This past week, a video from a Kenyan political analyst who has links to the Kenyan government was widely shared on social media.
The video once again targeted Somalia and Somalis to many, and it was undoubtedly a subtle message from the Kenyan government. In the video, Professor Mutahi Ngunyi and his students not only incited violence and hate against Somalis in Kenya but also followed the same script the Kenyan government had pursued-issuing threats and cajoling Somalia to back out of the ICJ case.
And now the visa rules Monday targeted at diplomatic passport holders in Somalia is yet again another desperate attempt at forcing Somalia to bow to pressure. This too will pass, but it may not be the end for Kenya, which has proven to be a dishonest and neighbour is also not well meaning.
We are also learning Kenyan authorities are on the warpath against remittance companies, commonly known as hawalas operating in Kenya. These hawalas, like all businesses in Kenya, are legally registered and are a lifeline to thousands in both Kenya and Somalia.
They have been instrumental in facilitating trade between the two countries for decades and have also been a reliable channel for diaspora Somalis and Kenyans to remit money back home. But Kenya ‘won’t see it that way.
For Somalia, it is worth noting that Kenya may continue on this path of threats, intimidation and subjugation but none will shift even an inch of Somalia’s position on the maritime case and any other legally binding agreement.
Somalia is recovering from decades of internecine conflict, but it will never shade its territorial integrity, independence, and responsibility to another nation.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of Halbeeg News
Author: Ahmed Mohamed Adan,
Multimedia Journalist based in Nairobi
Discussion about this post