On Wednesday, Somalia criticized a fact-finding commission’s report that claimed it found no proof showing that Kenya was intervening in the affairs of Somalia.
A report by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an eight-country African trade bloc comprising governments from the Horn of Africa, the Nile Valley and the African Great Lakes, said Tuesday that a team that investigated the issue also found that Kenya was not arming militants along its shared border to attack and destabilize areas in Somalia.
“The commission considers that these grievances, some of which are longstanding, do not appear sufficient to justify a diplomatic separation between Kenya and Somalia. It is true that the federal government of Somalia is sovereign in its decisions,” a fraction of the IGAD report read.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Somali Information Ministry said: “The federal government of Somalia has described as unrealistic a report issued by the newly-appointed fact-finding committee on a case filed by the Somali government against the Kenyan government.”
Somali Minister for Information, Culture and Tourism Osman Dubbe explained to reporters in the capital Mogadishu that the report was biased, adding: “The outcome of their report came as a shock to us. The report is one-sided. They [investigators] refused to go to the Somali territory. They went to Kenya twice, they went to Mandera. We wanted them to visit the Gedo region, but they refused to cross the border.”
On Tuesday, the leader of the African Union urged Kenya and Somalia to show caution along their borders and to de-escalate tensions.
According to Anadolu agency, Kenya has been accused by Somalia, a Horn of Africa country, of supporting armed fighters who engaged Somali forces on Monday in a battle that claimed 11 lives.
However, Kenya has distanced itself from the accusations and has said it wants an end to the dispute.
Educator, writer and legal researcher at Alafarika for Studies and Consultancy.