‘Not even a single inch!’ Kenya unites to warn ungrateful Somalia

Image result for uhuru's warning

A diplomatic row between Kenya and her neighbor Somalia that has been brewing for months now escalated on Thursday (today) after the Arab parliament issued a warning to Kenya on the maritime border issue.

Somalia, through a Twitter post, appeared to warn Kenya in a notice written in Arabic which implied that Kenya had drawn a “new, unfounded map”.

“The  Parliament calls on  to stop its hands on  territorial waters, which are an integral part of the Arab waters, and rejects its false pretensions to draw up a new, unfounded map while rejecting its threats to interfere in ‘s internal affairs,” the tweet read.

However, the so-called warning has been termed by Kenyans as total crap with many calling Somalia an ungrateful neighbor who doesn’t appreciate the help they received during the hour of need.

Through an hashtag ‘#SomeoneTellSomalia’ that has been trending at number one for the better part of Thursday, agitated Kenyans formed a united front in confronting Somalia while urging the government to never cede an inch to the crisis-hit neighbor.

Info-graphic: A maritime border conflcit between Kenya and Somalia

A narrow triangle off the coast the two nations, about 100,000 square kilometers, is the bone of contention with both countries thirsting for the area because it supposedly has a large deposit of oil and gas, but it’s not clear to which country it belongs.

“The position of the boundary is a gray area,” said Timothy Walter, a maritime border conflict researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in South Africa.

For Kenya, however, the boundary is quite clear.

https://twitter.com/Evan98457959/status/1141749442615435267

It lies line parallel to the line of latitude. That gives Kenya the larger share of the maritime area and it has already sold mining licenses to international companies.

But Somalia disagrees.

The Somalis want the boundary to extend to the southeast as an extension of the land border.

Many believe that Kenya should no longer play the “good neighbour”.

https://twitter.com/Chepkut_William/status/1141742746568482816

Instead, she should proclaim, in no uncertain terms, her intent to deploy the full array of Kenya’s instruments of national power to get her maritime territory back.

President Uhuru Kenyatta must indicate to both Somalia and any other international entity of its purposed unwillingness to engage in wishful diplomacy but use military force if necessary.

According to Dr Sagala, a consultant on security and governance, Kenya must stand on Article 5 of the Constitution, where “Kenya” consists of the “territory and territorial waters on the effective date” of this supreme law (2010).

Article 238 defines national security as the “protection against internal and external threats to Kenya’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, its people, their rights, freedoms, property, peace, stability and prosperity, and other national interests”.

Here are some reactions from Kenyans:

 

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