By Andrew Wasike
NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – Kenya on Sunday denied claims by Somalia that it has been interfering in the country's internal affairs, terming the allegations “fabricated for political expediency.”
“Kenya rejects the unwarranted and invalid allegations made by the Federal Government of Somalia and takes great exception to the fabricated indictments of interfering in Somalia’s internal affairs,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said Sunday in a protest note to Mogadishu, according to Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper.
In the statement, Nairobi denied all the allegations accusing Kenya of meddling in Somalia’s affairs as said in a Friday statement by Somali Ambassador to the UN Abukar Dahir Osman.
“These baseless accusations are part of a growing and persistent pattern of ill intent to use Kenya as a scapegoat and tool to justify unfulfilled legitimate and social demands in Somalia and for political mileage,” the Daily Nation quoted the Foreign Affairs Ministry as saying.
“Kenya will not accept to be used in that manner and encourages the Federal Government of Somalia to stop the campaign and use the energy to deliver leadership to their people.”
On Friday, Somalia issued a warning accusing Kenya of interfering in its internal affairs, including encroachment in the border areas between the two countries.
Kenya and Somalia have been on the verge of a diplomatic maritime row over a disputed 62,000-square-mile (160,580-square-kilometer) oil and gas-rich area in the Indian Ocean in the shape of a triangle that both nations claim.