Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed and former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga /HANDOUTThere are men whose names become punctuation marks in a nation’s story.
A pause
in the country’s weather. A shift in its breathing. The kind of men who compel
a nation to confront difficult questions about its future and the direction it
wants to take. The Right Honourable Raila Amolo Odinga, First Class Chief of
the Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya, was one of those men.
Across Kenya, he will be remembered as a central figure in the struggle for pluralism and constitutionalism. Across the wider region, he will be remembered for his insistence that democracy is not a seasonal posture, but a sustained public ethic. In Somaliland, however, his legacy carries an additional dimension. He was one of the few senior African leaders who was willing to treat our case as a question of justice and political honesty.
For decades, the question of Somaliland’s sovereignty has hovered on the margins of continental diplomacy, recognised in private but avoided in public. Many leaders have preferred caution over clarity, waiting for consensus before finding their voice. A hedging and ‘wait and see’ diplomacy of sorts.
Raila was different. He saw Somaliland as a legitimate reality seeking its rightful place within the continental fold. A society that had earned its place through order, democratic practice and peace built from within.
And when the Somaliland Mission in Nairobi came under scrutiny, questioned, misrepresented and at times unfairly politicised, he did not turn away. Instead, he extended political hospitality and chose to openly engage with us and in dignity. He listened, understood and treated the mission with the respect due to a people’s legitimate pursuit of recognition. The loneliest stretch of leadership is when the world has not yet caught up to the principle you are defending. And still, he walked.
When Raila met with Somaliland’s President Abdirahman Abdullahi in Nairobi this June, he reaffirmed that Somaliland’s pursuit of recognition is anchored in principles the continent has already endorsed: democratic legitimacy, stability earned through institution-building and the sovereign right of people to determine their own political future. He understood that recognition is not a favour bestowed by powerful capitals, but a legal and historical outcome rooted in evidence. He also understood, perhaps more acutely than most, that the Horn of Africa cannot build stability by overlooking its truths.
For Somaliland, those truths are lived daily. We are constructing a state grounded in institutional discipline, free elections, civil liberties and the steady work of public service delivery. We have no illusions about the complexity of regional politics. We know the cost of being misunderstood, and the weight of operating outside formal recognition frameworks. But we also know that a state’s legitimacy is first tested at home, and on that measure, we stand on firm ground.
It is not an easy journey, but it is one we have deliberately chosen. Our footprint is expanding from Nairobi to Addis Ababa, from the Gulf to western nations, including the United States of America, as we engage the world through dialogue and shared purpose. We are investing in ports, trade corridors and digital connectivity; in the arts and media, all tools through which a nation tells its story and shapes how it is seen. Each of these steps, however modest, is part of a larger effort to claim our place in the community of nations through honest work.
As the region moves into a new chapter, the standard he set remains instructive. Diplomacy must eventually return to honesty, even when honesty is inconvenient. The Horn of Africa does not need more silence; it needs leadership capable of acknowledging facts as they stand, not as they are wished to be.
To Raila, Somaliland extends its gratitude. Thank you for your fairness, for your willingness to listen and for your belief that Africa’s strength lies in its diversity. Your influence will endure in the conversations you started, in the bridges you built and in the confidence you gave to those still fighting to be heard.
In Hargeisa, your name will not be forgotten. It will live on in the determination of a people who remember those who stood with them when it mattered most. You gave our struggle a measure of visibility and, with it, a sense of dignity. For that, Somaliland will always hold you in esteem.
As we
move forward, we do so inspired by your example to act with principle, to lead
with patience and to believe in the power of engagement over isolation. And so,
when the story of Somaliland’s journey is told, your name will be among those
who helped make the world see us, not as an exception, but as part of Africa’s
unfolding promise.
The writer is the Ambassador of the Republic of Somaliland to Kenya. He is a former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Trade and Investment; [email protected]
