A top official of the Federal Government of Somalia announced the country’s plans to take the maritime dispute with Kenya over the Indian Ocean to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The country’s Deputy Prime Minister, Mahdi Guled, made this announcement on Friday when reports indicating Kenya’s willingness to settle the matter out of court emerged.
Consequently, the two countries are scheduled to have their day in court though both Mogadishu and Nairobi insist that it will have no bearing on “normal operations.”
Nevertheless, Guled said the countries are likely to make their submissions virtually because of difficulty in traveling due to the effect of COVID-19.
According to Guled, the government is not listening to calls to have the matter postponed for whatever reason. Instead, he says it will go ahead before the ICJ in June.
Reports indicate that Nairobi reached out to Somalia to postpone the matter slightly to allow space for “friendly settlement.” However, Somalia declined the request.