President Uhuru Kenyatta has declared that Kenya has no plans of giving up on its land to any individual or state.

The Head of State on July 21, 2021, visited a Multi-Agency taskforce undergoing training at the Boni Forest, where he indicated that Kenya will not back down from the Maritime border dispute with her Horn of Africa neighbours.

He stated that the defence forces will not cede an inch of Kenya's soil to anyone or any state.

File image of President Uhuru Kenyatta and KDF soldiers at Boni Forest, Lamu County. |Photo| Courtesy|

President Kenyatta reiterated that Kenya is a peace-loving nation, but will not tolerate any attempt by foreign nations to invade its sovereign borders whether on land or at sea.

“We will not accept any one claiming ownership of any part of our land. Just as we have respected boundaries of other countries, we expect that our borders and land are equally respected.

"We are ready to protect the peace of our country just as we are ready to protect that of other countries," he stated.

President Kenyatta spoke in reference to the ongoing maritime dispute between Kenya and Somalia over a 160,000 square kilometer area in the Indian Ocean, reportedly rich in oil and natural gas.

The Horn of Africa nation took Kenya to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague in Netherlands. However, on March 14, 2021, Kenya withdrew from the case prior to its hearing, alleging bias.

Kenya wrote to the ICJ registrar expressing doubt over the procedural hearing of the case, especially after the court denied Kenya more time to put together a new legal team.