This archive report was first published on 9 September 2019.
On September 9, 2019, the International Court of Justice granted Kenya's request to delay the hearing over the maritime border dispute with Somalia. The hearing was initially set for September 9 but will now start on November 4, two months later.
The postponement follows Kenya's rejection of an alternative platform to solve the case through the African Union. Instead, the court will proceed with the hearing as scheduled.
The dispute between Kenya and Somalia surrounds the ownership of a 150,000 square kilometer mineral-rich coastline. Somalia took Kenya to court in 2014 to challenge a prior agreement that set its maritime border along latitudinal lines.
As the hearing approaches, the African Union plans to offer an amicable solution to the border row. According to a statement, the African Union's Peace and Security Council plans to appoint a mediator to help find 'an amicable and sustainable settlement, in consultation and collaboration with the relevant regional mechanisms.'
Kenya and Somalia have engaged in a series of diplomatic tensions leading up to the hearing. Earlier this year, Kenya expelled Somalia's envoy in Nairobi, and later halted direct flights from Somalia to Nairobi. In response, Somalia banned Kenya-based NGOs from working within the country.
