Friday January 13, 2023
By Jeremiah Wakaya
Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua issued the clarification on Friday amid reports Kenya would set up an Embassy in Somaliland, a breakaway territory of Somalia.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 13 — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has denied reports of the planned elevation of Kenya’s Liaison Office in Hargeisa into an embassy.
Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua issued the clarification on Friday amid reports Kenya would set up an Embassy in Somaliland, a breakaway territory of Somalia.
Reports on the elevation of Hargeisa were fueled by the listing of Kenya’s Liaison Office in Hargeisa among the country’s sixty-six foreign missions in an Executive Order issued by President William Ruto on Monday, January 9.
Somaliland has been seeking to forge strong relations with nations in the region including Kenya which created a Liaison Office in September 2021 and deployed four officers.
When Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi made a visit to Kenya in December 2020 and held talks with then President Uhuru Kenyatta, Somalia sent a protest note cutting ties with Kenya.
Somalia, a fierce opponent of Somaliland’s quest to be recognized as an independent State, accused Kenya of meddling in its affairs.
Prior to the escalation in December 2020, Kenya’s National Security Council (NSC) had in March 2020 accused the Somalia National Army (SNA) of breach of its border in the north east and harassing citizens in the border town of Mandera.
NSC said the actions by Somalia amounted to, “an unwarranted attack by foreign soldiers with the intention of provoking Kenya.”
SNA is said to have breached the border during a daylong war with forces of the regional state of Jubaland, which Somali considers to be of equal status with Somaliland.
About 30 Jubaland troops were reportedly shielded within security installations in Mandera town during the ensuing gunfight.
Kenya and Somalia have since normalized diplomatic relations.