Thursday January 28, 2021
NAIROBI (HOL) - Kenya has called on Somali leaders to stop dragging it into their domestic affairs and instead concentrate on building their nation.
Addressing journalists in Nairobi, spokesman Cyrus Oguna said Somali leaders were using domestic politics to settle scores with Kenya but noted time was up for such maneuvers.
“As a country, we want to state very clearly, that we will not accept to be drawn into internal politics of Somalia,” Oguna said.
“We are calling on Somali leadership to desist from dragging Kenya into their domestic issues.”
Oguna was reacting to the recently released IGAD report which largely exonerated Kenya from accusations by Somalia.
Noting that the report established that the accusations levelled against Kenya by Somalia were ‘false, malicious, and with no weight to justify severing diplomatic relations,’ Oguna said the recent clashes in Belet-Hawo had its origins in local politics in Somalia.
“It is clear that the events being witnessed around Mandera have their genesis on domestic political activities in Somalia, with every effort being made to give them an external angle,” Oguna said.
Somalia has since dismissed the report arguing that it was drafted in Kenya’s favour and went ahead to accuse Djibouti of working in Kenya’s interest.
“We never imagined that our younger brother will stand against us. We hope that Djibouti will rescind that decision. Djibouti was liberated by Somalia,” Information Minister Osman Dube told journalists Wednesday in Mogadishu.