NAIROBI, Kenya
Kenya President’s
communication team has remained mum on the confusion created by Kenya’s
policy on the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), giving diplomats the
headache of clarifying an age-old international stance.Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic President Brahim Ghali during President William Ruto’s swearing-in at Kasarani Stadium, Nairobi, on September 13, 2022.
On Wednesday, President William
Ruto tweeted that Kenya would no longer recognise the SADR, the portion of
Western Sahara ruled by the Polisario Front exiled in neighbouring Algeria. The
territory has been contested by Morocco since 1975, even though the SADR is a
member of the African Union like Morocco.
“Kenya rescinds its
recognition of the SADR and initiates steps to wind down the entity’s presence
in the country,” Ruto said.
He had on Tuesday met with
Sahrawi President Brahim Ghali, who attended his inauguration at Kasarani.
“Kenya supports the United
Nations framework as the exclusive mechanism to find a lasting solution to the
dispute over Western Sahara,” he said after meeting Moroccan Foreign Minister
Nasser Bourita.
ALSO READ: Kenya's new president cuts ties with Sahrawi day after inauguration
The bit about recognition was
later deleted, but State House offered no explanation on the position.
By a tweet, the President may
have departed from history, including his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta’s, and by
deleting the tweet, he may have left confusion on just which way the country’s
foreign policy will go.
Yet some observers think the
presidency was only playing realistic politics: Choosing a side that brings
direct benefit.
“It could be a strategic
business move and Kenya may also be moving towards a neutral approach on this
matter, given the role of Morocco,” said Dr Hawa Noor Z, a peace and security
researcher and analyst for the Horn of Africa and associate fellow at the
Institute for Intercultural and International Studies (InIIS) in Germany.
“Morocco is backed by many
powerful countries, including Israel, that have been normalising relations with
many Arab states. If you look at this trend and how Kenya is strategically
placing itself, in business, especially for this regime, it becomes somehow clear
where things are going,” she told The EastAfrican on
Thursday.
She, however, added that the
abrupt announcement might run counter to the ‘hustler’ way of supporting the
oppressed across the continent.
Later, the President indicated
that relations with Morocco would be speeded up “in areas of trade,
agriculture, health, tourism, energy, among others, for the mutual benefit of
our countries”.
Morocco is one of the main
producers of fertiliser on the continent, which the President had promised to
look for, at cheaper prices, for Kenyan farmers.
In spite of the deleted
message, Morocco reinforced the announcement, publishing a lengthy
statement that also indicated that Kenya would be opening a resident
embassy in Rabat.
“The Republic of Kenya has
decided to revoke the recognition of the pseudo-SADR and to begin the steps for
the closure of its representation in Nairobi,” the statement said.
By Thursday, the
diplomatic mission of the SADR in Nairobi had not been formally informed of a
closure requirement, according to diplomatic sources who spoke to The
EastAfrican.
However, the biggest headache
may be for Kenya’s ambassador to Algeria, Peter Katana Angore.
In May, he became the first
Kenyan ambassador to present credentials to the SADR government exiled in
Algerian refugee camps.
His statement after the
ceremony reiterated Kenya’s decades-old policy. “The Republic of Kenya has
always stood in solidarity with the Sahrawi people in their quest for
independence,” he said after meeting Mr Ghali.
SADR set up a resident mission
in Nairobi during President Kenyatta’s term.
“Kenya’s position on the
question of Western Sahara is predicated on the fact that Kenya, as a country,
owes its existence, to a large extent, on the principle of self-determination
of peoples as enshrined in the United Nations Charter.
“We have a historical parallel
with the people of Sahrawi and we stand with them. We are strongly convinced
that by virtue of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, all peoples
have the right to freely determine, without external interference, their
political status and to pursue their economic, social, and cultural
development. As believers of a rules-based international system, we observe
this principle.”
Ruto’s office had butted away
claims on Sahrawi before. Last year, while serving as Deputy President, Ruto
denied remarks attributed to him by then Moroccan Ambassador to Kenya Mokhtar
Ghambou that had suggested the DP supported the autonomy of Western Sahara.
His then chief of staff, Ken
Osinde, wrote to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denying the attribution.
On Wednesday, Morocco’s
Foreign ministry claimed Kenya had endorsed the autonomy issue.
“In compliance with the
principle of territorial integrity and non-interference, Kenya gives its full
support to the serious and credible autonomy plan proposed by the Kingdom of
Morocco, as a single solution based on the territorial integrity of Morocco.”
Critics said the decision was
made in a rush, especially as there is no substantive Cabinet secretary yet to
handle the diplomatic dilemma. In the past, critical policy shifts were
discussed in the Cabinet first.
“Whoever advised the President
on the Moroccan/Sahrawi issue on day one of his presidency should not be
anywhere near MoFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) or the presidency. These are
the kind of things you take your time before you make any pronouncements,”
argued Mohamed Wehliye, a Kenyan economist and senior advisor to the Saudi
Central Bank.
On both occasions when
Kenya chaired the African Union Peace and Security Council, in 2021 and this
year, Nairobi voiced support for SADR’s quest for independence, through a
referendum supervised under UN terms.
In March 2021, the PSC chaired
by Kenya asked the African Union troika and the AU special envoy for Western
Sahara, Joachim Chissano, to “reinvigorate support to the UN-led mediation.”
At the time, however,
Mr Bourita, the Moroccan Foreign minister, wrote to Kenya asking that the
discussions be cancelled.
“The theme of the discussions
risks provoking severe divisions among the PSC members who would be more
comfortable to examine unifying and priority issues, over which there is basic
consensus, especially during the challenging period of Covid-19 pandemic,” Mr
Bourita argued in a March 1, 2021 letter to Nairobi.
Kenya also chaired another
meeting on Western Sahara in February this year “to examine the conditions that
have given rise to current tensions and violence and assess whether the policy
measures and strategies adopted at the international, regional and national
levels are bringing peace to Saharawi."
Kenya’s declaration, if
implemented, upends a decades-old policy by Nairobi, which aligned with the
African Union, to have Sahrawi pursue its self-determination, including through
a referendum.
The SADR has had a seat at the
African Union since 1982 and had for a long time caused Morocco’s withdrawal
from the AU, then known as the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), until 2017
when Rabat returned.
The decision means Kenya has
joined the US and Israel in recognising Morocco against SADR but it is the only
African country to do so publicly.
Some critics warned the move
may isolate Kenya on a continent massively behind SADR.
“In the 1980s, whilst the rest
of Africa shunned apartheid in South Africa, Kenya and Malawi defied Africa,”
said Donald Kipkorir, referring to the Moi era.
“South Africa has never
forgiven Kenya. Their President didn’t attend our inauguration. We are making
the same mistake in supporting Morocco against the Sahrawi Republic. Kenya is
alone in AU,” he said.
It may, however, be Morocco’s
latest victory as it seeks support for a UN-led solution "to vacate the AU
against any improper attempt to divert the path of unity and fellowship.”
Initially occupied by the
Spanish, Western Sahara was claimed by both Mauritania and Morocco.
Mauritania later left, leaving
Rabat to call the region its Southern Provinces of territory.
In 1979, the UN General
Assembly passed Resolution A / RES / 34/37 which provided "the unequal
rights of Western Sahara people in their own discretion and liberty, in
accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, the Charter of the
Organisation of the African Unity and the purposes of the General Assembly.”
The dispute between the two
sides had been floated in the UN systems, including at the International Court
of Justice.
But a referendum meant to
determine the future of the region was yet to be organised as both sides
disagree on who should participate.
The Polisario Front rejected
Morocco’s proposal for autonomy. – The EastAfrican
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