I genuinely hate the Kenyans with passion. First they enter our country without no mandate back in September 2011 and Sheikh Shariff himself rejected their entrance, it was the former PM Cabdiwali Gaas that welcomed the Kenyan. It was just last year that there mandate was accepted by the United Nations. And they were included in the AMISOM mandate. Not only that the Kenyans have much higher authority than the Federal government in Kismaayo, they take the revenue of the seaport and accept the charcoal trade that the government banned. As a Somali nationalist I totally reject Kenyans meddelling in Somalia, and the sooner they leave the better. We already have issues with them regards to our maritime borders.
A popular Somali website published an article stating that during Somali President’s recent visit to Nairobi Kenya, the Somali president did not receive a proper presidential welcome at Nairobi’s Kenyatta International Airport. Somalia’s president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, was visiting Kenya for talks over a border dispute between the two countries. However, according to the website, Kenya and Somalia did not comment on the incident.
Jubaland (currently and officially known as Jubba) was at loggerheads in this year, 2013, with the Federal Government of Somalia because the Federal Government of Somalia refused to recognize Jubaland citing grounds that the Jubaland State was not inclusive at the State level at that time and was a puppet of Kenya as Kenyan troops were in Jubaland after a long battle aimed at ousting Al-Shabab. It was only recently when the government of Somalia officially recognized Jubaland as Jubba. However, Somalia’s diplomatic wrangle with Kenya over Jubba State seems to have not completely healed in the sense that Kenya has more influences on Jubba instead of Somalia’s Federal Government having the influences.
Somalia-Kenya border dispute is marital dispute and over the years, there were unconfirmed reports that the two countries were negotiating to solve the sea dispute problem.
There were also claims that Kenya is using Somalia’s Juba State bordering it as a baffer zone to repel Al-Shabab and to advance its interests as Kenya explores oil in its territories bordering Somalia. Kenya also wants to harness potential oil wealth in the seas close to Somalia and allegedly beyond in Somali territories.
If you look at different fronts, Somalia and Kenya share interests as two neighboring countries in the Horn of Africa. In contrast, the two countries seems to be in almost secret loathing as Kenyan troops are still in Southern Somalia and became a part of the African Union Force known as UNISOM which currently guards the weak Somali Federal Government against being toppled by Al-Shabab. Maybe ‘secret loathing’ is the right word because Somalia’s Federal Government is still suspicious of Kenya’s national interests as Kenya is a close ally of Somalia’s Jubba State.
In the article published by the above mentioned Somali website, there is a picture showing Somalia’s president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta talking at same time with hand gestures and body language sending the message that the two leaders were not interested in each others’ point.