MOGDISHU, Feb 14 (NNN-ALLAFRICA) — Somalia rejected the Kenyan government’s request to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to postpone the maritime case between the two neighboring East African countries.
Somalia’s Information Minister Osman Dubbe told a news conference in the capital Mogadishu that his country has rejected Kenya’s request that it made for the fourth time.
“We have rejected Kenya’s fourth request to the ICJ to postpone the two countries’ maritime case. Justice delayed is justice denied. We should be set to head to The Hague court on March 15 come what may,” Dubbe said.
“The Somali government has told the International Court of Justice that we are ready for the March 15 hearing and that we will not accept any further postponement,” he added.
The dispute between Kenya and Somalia is rooted in their Indian Ocean border, and Somalia brought its case to the International Court of Justice at The Hague in 2014.
Somalia has a 3,333-kilometer coastline, which is the longest in Africa.
The Kenyan government asked the court to delay the hearing because, it claimed, the global coronavirus pandemic disrupted its plans to put together a team of lawyers to represent it, as well as its ability to meet the required payments.
In an application for postponement of the case dated Jan 28, Attorney-General Kihara Kariuki says Kenya will be unable to defend itself “fairly, fully and transparently” if the scheduled hearing proceeded by video link.
Kenya contends its new legal team, recruited in January last year, has faced difficulties since the pandemic struck the country in March, as travel bans stopped its foreign lawyers from meeting their local counterparts and also hampered efforts to collect material evidence.
Another concern by the Kenyan government is a missing document authorities say is critical to Kenya’s case.
“While the adverse effect of the pandemic has occasioned Kenya’s inability to access this document and other additional material evidence that it hoped to secure for presentation to the court in advance of hearing, Kenya has nevertheless gathered significant evidence, which it wishes to present to the court,” Kariuki writes in the letter addressed to Philippe Gautier, the court’s registrar.
The missing map apparently indicates the maritime boundary with Kenya and the chart had been referenced in the maritime law that Somalia had submitted. — NNN-ALLAFRICA
