President Uhuru Kenyatta's efforts to have maritime dispute with Somalia postponed bore from for the second time in as many months, reports Garowe Online.
On Thursday, International Court of Justice pushed the Indian Ocean maritime dispute case to June 2020, effectively giving Kenya another eight months to prepare.
The court had initially postponed the case in September and rescheduled hearing from November 4th to 8th this year. Kenya was pushing for 12-month postponement.
"The International Criminal Court (ICJ) has decided to hear the Somali-Kenya maritime dispute case on June 8-12, 2020," said Somali deputy PM, Mahdi Mohamed Guled in a tweet.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had his request to AU to have Somalia withdrawing the case in September rejected. The case was first reported to The Hague in 2014.
Kenya's delegation under Attorney General Kihara Kariuki and Solicitor General Ken Ogeto has been pitching tent in Holland pushing for postponement.
During UN General Assembly last month, Uhuru had opted for negotiations with the war torn country, insisting that Kenya prefers dialogue rather than hectic court process in International Court of Justice at The Hague.
Uhuru while congratulating Sudan and South Sudan for committing to a path of sustainable peace, challenged Somalia to consider dialogue and negotiation as an option for resolving the maritime border dispute currently before the ICJ.
“In the same spirit, my administration continues to reach out to Somalia in an effort to find an amicable and sustainable solution to the maritime boundary dispute between us,” he said.
“In this regard, I welcome the decision of the African Union Peace and Security Council of 3rd September 2019 that urges both parties to engage.”
Somalia President Mohammed Farmaajo insisted that Mogadishu believes in the court settlement of the dispute.
According to him, the relationship between Kenya and Somalia should not be comprised simply because of the current case which the ICJ has jurisdictions to hear and determine.
"Our overall relations are excellent. Our maritime boundaries have never been delimiting. It's our disagreement between the two sister states.
"We are happy that the ICJ found that it has jurisdictions to hear the case and it has scheduled it for November. Somalia as a member of UN, is keen to see this court settlement to its end," he said.
The case was slated for September this year but Kenya requested for adjournment after changing the legal team. ICJ has set November 6th to 8th as dates for submission from both parties.