MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – The International Court of Justice has rejected on Saturday a recent request by Kenya’s government to delay hearing into the maritime border dispute with Somalia.
Somalia previously wrote to the court urging it not to accept Kenya’s request for a fourth postponement of the oral proceedings scheduled for March 15.
The government of Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta appealed for deferral, citing a missing map, Coronavirus complications and absence of legitimate government in Somalia.
The International Court of Justice (ICCJ) decided to maintain the hearings as scheduled, beginning in March 15 2021, in a hybrid format.
“With reference to the case concerning maritime delimitation in the Indian Ocean (Somalia v. Kenya) and to the request of the republic of Kenya for a postponement of oral proceedings, I have the honor to inform your Excellency that, having duly considered the arguments presented by the two parties, the court decided to maintain the hearings as scheduled,” ICJ statement reads.
The decision could be a major blow to Kenya’s bid to win the case against Somalia, though its recent diplomatic gestures showed it was exerting major efforts in suspending the maritime case to end the row within the East African bloc, IGAD.
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