Saturday September 14, 2024
Mogadishu (HOL) — A Kenyan court has rejected Somalia's appeal to unfreeze its embassy bank accounts in Nairobi, sustaining an earlier order to settle a Sh25.6 million ($198,414) debt owed to a Kenyan contractor. Justice Alfred Mabeya of the High Court dismissed the application by Somalia's Attorney General, affirming that Somalia cannot use diplomatic immunity to evade legal responsibilities in commercial matters.
The case dates back to 2019 when Kingsley Construction Limited sued the Somali government for breach of contract. The company claimed the embassy violated a 2016 agreement to renovate its premises on Jabavu Likoni Lane in Nairobi by blocking the contractor's access and failing to pay the remaining Sh23.4 million. The court had previously ruled in favour of Kingsley Construction after Somalia's embassy did not mount a defence.
In response, Somalia argued that the embassy's accounts, held at Premier Bank Limited, should be protected under diplomatic immunity. However, Justice Mabeya stated that diplomatic immunity under Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) does not extend to commercial transactions. He ruled that sovereign immunity cannot be invoked when a state engages in commercial activities like contractual agreements.
The Somali embassy's representative, Jabril Ibrahim Abdulle, argued in an affidavit that the funds in question originated from application and processing fees paid by individuals seeking passports and visas. He contended that Kenya and Somalia are sovereign equals under international law, suggesting the court had been misled into enforcing the freeze on the embassy's bank accounts.
Despite these claims, the court emphasized that commercial activities fall outside the protective scope of diplomatic immunity. Justice Mabeya added that states forfeit their sovereign immunity when they engage in commercial contracts and confirmed that the bank held adequate funds to cover the debt.