Nairobi,
KENYA
A group
of Kenyans wants the government not to send representatives to the hearing of
the maritime case between Mogadishu and Nairobi due at the Hague next month.
The group wants the High Court to stop Attorney
General Kihara Kariuki, Foreign Affairs CS Monica Juma and the Kenya
International Boundaries Office from participating in the case saying it
offends the Constitution.
In a suit filed at the High Court, they argue that
the case can lead to the alteration of Kenya’s territory without a referendum
as required by the Constitution.
Through Kinoti and Kibe Co Advocates, the 20
petitioners want the court to issue a permanent injunction restraining the
three public offices from participating in the case and to compel the attorney
general to ensure that Kenya is not party to international proceedings whose
effect is to bypass constitutional requirements.
“We are concerned that as Kenya’s representatives
continue to campaign for the international community to prevail upon Somalia to
resolve the dispute amicably, no serious efforts have been made to assert that
the International Court of Justice is exercising its jurisdiction unlawfully,”
the petitioners say in an affidavit signed by Mr Kiriro wa Ngugi.
Somalia sued Kenya at the ICJ in 2014 over their
common maritime boundary.
Kenya controls the territory which Somalia also
claims, which has caused diplomatic tension between the two countries.
Somalia President Mohamed Farmaajo last week
rejected President Uhuru Kenyatta’s request for dialogue.
While addressing the United Nations General
Assembly, President Kenyatta said the court action should be the last resort.
However, Mr Farmaajo rejected the request and
insisted that the matter should be resolved at the ICJ. - Daily Nation
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