{"id":68367,"date":"2022-09-15T16:04:55","date_gmt":"2022-09-15T16:04:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/storm-over-president-rutos-early-diplomatic-goof"},"modified":"2022-09-15T16:11:59","modified_gmt":"2022-09-15T16:11:59","slug":"storm-over-president-rutos-early-diplomatic-goof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/storm-over-president-rutos-early-diplomatic-goof","title":{"rendered":"Storm over President Ruto’s early diplomatic goof"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. <\/strong><\/span>President William Ruto has suffered a backlash over his hurried decision to cut ties between Kenya and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).<\/p>\n

Kenyans, including Ruto supporters, protested the decision, which has far-reaching implications, citing the lack of Cabinet approval.<\/p>\n

The President, before retracting, had announced that Kenya had revoked its recognition of the SADR as an independent state in favour of the Kingdom of Morroco.<\/p>\n

He announced the radical measure after a meeting with Moroccan foreign minister Nasser Bourita who had delivered King Mahamed VI\u2019s goodwill message to Ruto as he ascended to the presidency.<\/p>\n

Ruto said he would initiate steps to wind down the country\u2019s presence in Nairobi, a directive which shocked many after President Brahim Ghali of the Sahrawi attended Ruto\u2019s inauguration on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cKenya rescinds its recognition of the SADR and initiates steps to wind down the entity\u2019s presence in the country,\u201d Ruto said in a tweet.<\/p>\n

The President, however, deleted the tweet leaving one which read: \u201cKenya supports the United Nations framework as the exclusive mechanism to find a lasting solution of the dispute over Western Sahara.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decision, although expunged, elicited swift reactions from Kenyans with those in the know pointing out how it would expose Kenya.<\/p>\n

Others argued the decision was made without consideration of the situation of Kenyans living in the SADR.<\/p>\n

Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi, a fierce Ruto defender, was among those who disagreed with the President.<\/p>\n

\u201cI respectfully disagree with President William Ruto. The Sahrawi People of Western Sahara have the right to self-determination. Morocco is a colonizing state,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Lawyer Donald Kipkorir said Kenya was making a mistake in supporting Morocco against the SADR.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1980\u2019s while the rest of Africa shunned apartheid in South Africa, Kenya and Malawi defied Africa. South Africa has never forgiven Kenya. Their President didn\u2019t attend our inauguration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are making the same mistake supporting Morocco against Sahrawi Republic. Kenya is alone in AU,\u201d Kipkorir said.<\/p>\n

The developments have been observed to have put states like Palestine, Somaliland, Taiwan, and Somaliland on the edge, being independent states.<\/p>\n

Morocco and Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic are both laying claim to Western Sahara. Morocco has issues with the recognition of the SADR as a state.<\/p>\n

Backed by Algeria, SADR wants an independent state in Western Sahara. The disputed area in the desert is rich in minerals.<\/p>\n

The African Union recognizes SADR as one of its member states, a position Morocco is said to challenge from time to time using its diplomatic networks.<\/p>\n

But Cofek secretary-general Stephen Mutoro, also a Ruto supporter, said Kenya should be very careful recognizing the likes of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIdeally, such recognition should have been made through Parliament. Our interests with the Kingdom of Morocco are much bigger than those of SADR,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Even so, Ruto and his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta were divided over the Western Saraha independence question.<\/p>\n

Whereas Uhuru supported Sahrawi\u2019s self-independence as a solution to the question, Ruto vouched for an autonomy plan under Morocco.<\/p>\n

His argument was that Kenya and Morroco are the leading powers in their regions and maintained that ties between the two major economies would benefit Africa as a whole.<\/p>\n

Former Morrocan envoy to Kenya Mohktar Ghambou Sahara in an oped run in October 2020 said the Sahara has been an integral part of Morocco \u201csince the Middle Ages\u201d.<\/p>\n

He argued that since time immemorial, Saharan tribes \u201chave continuously paid allegiance to the Moroccan monarchy despite the European colonial policy of divide-and-rule.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSahrawis speak and write in the same languages (Berber or Arabic) and practice the same religion (Sunni Islam) like the rest of the Moroccan population,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir local Arabic dialect, hassaniya, is also recognized by Morocco\u2019s current constitution,\u201d the envoy said.<\/p>\n

Sahrawi was initially under the domination of Spain but after their exit in 1975, Morocco claimed it was part of its territory.<\/p>\n

In 1976, the Polisario Front, with Libya and Algeria\u2019s support, won a referendum on self-determination leading to the recognition of the SADR.<\/p>\n

A protracted stalemate ensued, with Morocco said to be blocking any attempt for a referendum with the independence option.<\/p>\n

Recognition of the Sahrawi Republic is not only dicey for Kenya but a delicate balance for many other states with strategic interests in the region.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Kenya<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. President William Ruto has suffered a backlash over his hurried decision to cut ties between Kenya and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Kenyans, including Ruto supporters, protested the decision, which has far-reaching implications, citing the lack of Cabinet approval. The President, before retracting, had announced that Kenya had revoked its recognition […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":68366,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,8,12,16],"tags":[6857,7003,544],"class_list":["post-68367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-policy","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-kenya","tag-kenya"],"yoast_head":"\nStorm over President Ruto's early diplomatic goof - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"President William Ruto has suffered a backlash over his hurried decision to cut ties between Kenya and the Sahrawi Arab ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/storm-over-president-rutos-early-diplomatic-goof\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Storm over President Ruto's early diplomatic goof\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"President William Ruto has suffered a backlash over his hurried decision to cut ties between Kenya and the Sahrawi Arab ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/storm-over-president-rutos-early-diplomatic-goof\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-09-15T16:04:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-15T16:11:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2022\/09\/postQueueImg_10-63234eaf4f763.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"805\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/storm-over-president-rutos-early-diplomatic-goof#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/storm-over-president-rutos-early-diplomatic-goof\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Storm over President Ruto’s early diplomatic goof\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-15T16:04:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-15T16:11:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/storm-over-president-rutos-early-diplomatic-goof\"},\"wordCount\":735,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/storm-over-president-rutos-early-diplomatic-goof#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2022\/09\/postQueueImg_10-63234eaf4f763.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Kenya\",\"Kenya\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"homepage-english\",\"policy\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/storm-over-president-rutos-early-diplomatic-goof#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/storm-over-president-rutos-early-diplomatic-goof\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/storm-over-president-rutos-early-diplomatic-goof\",\"name\":\"Storm over President Ruto's early diplomatic goof - 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