Kenya Apologizes to Somalia over Sensational Tweet

GOOBJOOG NEWS | NAIROBI: The Kenyan government has apologized to Somalia over a sensational social media post posted by a Kenyan Senator on the X platform.

Kenya’s Senate speaker Amason Kingi on Tuesday shared on social media that he had met with Somaliland’s “ambassador to Kenya” and that they had met to explore “new avenues for collaboration and partnerships between our governments”.

However, Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei in a quick rejoinder said Mr. Kingi wrongly acknowledged Somaliland’s government in his since deleted post.

“It is Kenya’s established and unchanging foreign policy, consistent with African Union, that only the Federal Republic of Somalia is the recognized State entity,” said Mr. Sing’oei.

Adding, “Somaliland, a region within the Federal Republic of Somalia, has a liaison office for commercial purposes in Nairobi. This office is not an embassy”.

The speaker has also been criticised for meddling in the affairs of national government by engaging in foreign policy, which falls outside the direct jurisdiction of the senate.

Somaliland seceded from Somalia in 1991 but it is not recognised internationally as an independent state, including by the UN and African Union.