Kenya has accused Djibouti of insincerity and sabotage with only seven months to the elections of UN Security Council non permanent seat.
The two African nations will be facing each other in New York in June 2020 as the battle for the African slot takes shape.
In an interview with Citizen TV on Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma accused Djibouti of failing to adhere to a previous agreement.
"I am pretty surprised. The reason why we went for a vote was to make determination on who will be the African candidate in lines with our rules and procedures," she said.
"Djibouti and us had agreed that since we had not reached a consensus, we let the AU help us make a determination. It came as a surprise because it was an agreement," she added.
The two nations had agreed to respect the outcome of the African Union vote in August, only for Djibouti to make a u-turn after losing to Kenya.
Kenya garnered 37 votes with Djibouti getting 13.
According to Djibouti, Kenda was unfit due to inability to solve maritime border row with Somalia.
“If elected, Djibouti will relentlessly promote the obligation of all states to uphold international law in the maintenance of peace and security, and advocate for re-commitment to a multilateral, rule-based international order,” said Djibouti President Ismael Omar