A day after President William Ruto named an ambassador to Hargeisa, a UDA lawmaker has come out and strongly criticised him.
Hargeisa is the capital city of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, a de facto sovereign state.
Wajir North Ibrahim Saney faulted Ruto over the decision arguing this will have negative and far-reaching implications on the relations Kenya has with Somalia.
Somaliland, he said, is yet to be recognised by the United Nations and the decision taken by Ruto amounts to a declaration of being unfriendly to its neighbour-Somalia.
He warned that the nation (Somalia) will definitely retaliate against it something that will cause a diplomatic tiff.
"I fear the first thing that will start miraa will stop going to Mogadishu in the next one week, they will see this as an affront to its sovereignty," he told the Star.
Saney said sending an ambassador to the region is tantamount to recognising it as a sovereign entity against international law.
"This is not in the good spirit of neighbourliness, it does not bring any benefit to us as a country other than antagonising and rattling it more so when it is struggling to fight terrorism," he noted.
In a communication dated October 4, President William Ruto through head of public service Felix Koskei named Abdi Weli Hussein as an ambassador to the region.
Saney further argued that Kenya will not gain anything out of this but instead stands to lose.
"We have a huge potential to do business with business Somalia...it is a government we have to support especially this time when it is about to join EAC. It is untapped," said MP.
"There is no wisdom here, this is not a well-thought idea by the president," he added.
