A former senior Somalia diplomat has protested the manner in which the Kenyan government acted towards its diplomats who were shown the door upon arrival at the JKIA.
The three officials with diplomatic passports were on an official trip to attend the launch of the EU Trust Fund for Africa programme but were denied entry at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Monday evening.
The former top diplomat Abdullahi Dool has threatened Kenya for its actions citing that Kenya should count its blessings in its ties with Somalia which is heavily in its favour.
Abdullahi further says that the trade imbalance between the two countries competitively favours Kenya and which can be lost at a stroke.
Our neighbor #Kenya should count its blessings in its ties with #Somalia which is heavily in its favor 1. Trade imbalance which favors Kenya 2. The mira trade 3. Huge Somali investment in Kenya 4. A large Somali business community in Kenya. All these could be lost at a stroke.
— Abdullahi Dool (@DoolAbdullahi) May 21, 2019
Among the issues the top diplomat threatened Kenya with include :
1. The miraa trade
2. Huge Somali investment in Kenya 4.
3. A large Somali business community in Kenya.
In early February, miraa traders’ lobby in Kenya raised concern over the reliability of the Somalia market as the current diplomatic tiff between the two countries saw exports reduce.
When the diplomatic row erupted over the oil block suspected ti have been auctioned by the Somalia government, Nyambene Miraa Traders Association (Nyamita) spokesman Kimathi Munjuri said only four flights ferried miraa to Somalia on that Monday morning, compared with about 20 that operated on normal days.
He attributed the decline to the uncertainty on the Kenya-Somalia dispute over maritime boundary.
In 2018, Somaliland opened its gates for Kenyan investors to venture into their country an opportunity that could be threatened by the diplomatic tuff between the two nations.
During the Somaliland Investment Conference in Nairobi on Friday, Foreign affairs and international cooperation minister Yasin Mohammed Hiir said there is a great opportunity for trade and investment in Somaliland.
The large numbers of Kenyan citizen who are working and living in Somaliland, as well as the businesses that have been established in Somaliland, are testimonies of their attractiveness and hospitality.
Kenya has taken wrong steps to pressure the Somali Govt on the maritime issue but the Somali leaders have little sway in this matter. The Somali public will not accept any avenue other than ICJ arbitration. The maritime issue between the two countries can be resolved by the ICJ.
— Abdullahi Dool (@DoolAbdullahi) May 21, 2019
#Kenyan will be ill advised to strain ties with Somalia or the Somali business community who invested heavily in its country for a stretch of sea border which the two nations await to hear its verdict from the ICJ. Kenya should not gamble with its magnatism for Somali investors.
— Abdullahi Dool (@DoolAbdullahi) May 21, 2019
Abdullahi Dool was fired last month for publicly advocating the establishment of formal relations with Israel and was forced to flee his country.
BREAKING Somalia Government fires Mr Abdullahi Dool Director of the office of the Foreign Minister over tweets calling for diplomatic ties with #Israel . According to @DalsanFM#Somalia pic.twitter.com/2RMghTSmIt
— HornDiplomat (@HornDiplomat) March 31, 2019