• President Mohamed Farmaajo has asked Kenya to respect the court's verdict.
• In its ruling that was delivered on Tuesday, the court rejected claims from Kenya over the boundary that it had claimed using the horizontal line from the border.
Somalia President Mohamed Farmaajo has welcomed the judgment from the International Court of Justice that ruled that there was no agreement between Kenyan and Somalia regarding the disputed maritime borderline.
In his remarks in a one-minute clip shared on Twitter on Thursday, Farmaajo said that finally, justice has prevailed for the people of Somalia.
“It was indeed a just struggle that was based on a long vision, a deep knowledge, bravery, patriotism, protection of public assets and the defence of the nation and the people,” Farmaajo said.
“I would like to thank Allah who has granted us this historic victory after the long struggle by the people and Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia against the unlawful attempts by the Kenyan government to claim parts of our maritime territory.”
Farmaajo asked Kenya to accept the ruling.
In its ruling that was delivered on Tuesday, the court rejected claims from Kenya over the boundary that it had claimed using the horizontal line from the border.
Also, the court rejected Somalia’s argument that Kenya had violated its sovereignty through maritime activities.
On the other side, Kenya rejected the ruling in totality,
"While Kenya is not surprised at the decision, it is profoundly concerned by the import of the decision and its implications for the Horn of Africa region, and international law generally," President Uhuru Kenyatta said.
Uhuru accused the court of unfairness and bias for refusing to allow Kenya to exhaust the use of regional dispute resolution mechanisms, despite the existence of a robust African Union legal framework on border issues and dispute settlement.
"A trend has emerged of some supposedly international organizations, being deployed as political tools against African countries. Sadly, this misfeasance has infected the ICJ, leading it to impose jurisdiction on a dispute it had neither jurisdiction nor competence," the president said.
Edited by D Tarus