Monday November 30, 2020
NAIROBI (HOL) - The move by Somalia to expel ambassador Lucas Tumbo was ‘unwarranted’, Kenya has said in its initial response amid a fresh round of diplomatic battles between the two neighbours.
Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Macharia Kamau said Nairobi will respond in due course after ‘digesting’ the news.
“This unexpected and unwarranted behaviour of Somalia leadership is something that requires some digesting before we can speak to it. We will respond officially through the appropriate channels soon," Macharia told the local media in Nairobi.
Macharia’s remarks came shortly after Somalia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a public statement noting it had ordered ambassador Tumbo to leave and that it had recalled ambassador Mohamed Nuur Tarzan from Nairobi.
Mogadishu accused its neighbour Nairobi of meddling in the ongoing elections process citing Ahmed Madobe’s (Jubbaland) announcement Saturday that elections in Garbaharey will not take place unless the Federal Government pulls out its troops.
“The federal government of Somalia understand that as a result of the Kenyan government’s political interference in the internal affairs of Somalia, the regional president of Jubaland, has reneged on the election agreement that was reached on the 17th September 2020 in Mogadishu,” Somalia said.
The two countries have had sour relations in the last three years over the maritime dispute.