NAIROBI – Kenya’s National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula has assured the Sahrawi Republic of his support in its push for recognition outside Morocco.
Speaker Wetangula said this on Thursday when he met Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Ambassador to Kenya Mohamed Limam Ali in his office, Parliament Buildings.
Wetangula’s said the envoy conveyed greetings from President Brahim Ghali and expressed the desire to establish a parliamentary friendship between the two countries.
“During our discussion, the Ambassador emphasized their aspiration for recognition as a Republic outside Morocco, citing control over 40% of the area with a commitment to employ all legal means to fight for their independence. I reassured him of my support, noting their membership in the AU, akin to our shared responsibility,” Wetang’ula said.
He also assured Ambassador Limam of his availability to advise and emphasized the importance of keeping the Sahrawi Republic on the AU agenda.
The Sahrawi Republic was the first diplomatic gaffe by President William Ruto on assuming power, when he tweeted that Kenya would no longer recognize it.
Following his inauguration on September 13, 2022, which Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic President Ghali attended, President Ruto tweeted, “Kenya rescinds its recognition of the SADR and initiates steps to wind down the entity’s presence in the country”.
“Kenya supports the United Nations framework as the exclusive mechanism to find a lasting solution to the dispute over Western Sahara,” he said after meeting Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
The tweet was later deleted without further clarification, causing confusion in the diplomatic circles as it was a departure from Kenya’s long-held position, as well as that of the African Union.
President Ruto’s stance evoked his past differences with his then boss President Uhuru Kenyatta on the matter.
As Deputy President, Ruto in a March 23, 2021 meeting with then Moroccan Ambassador to Kenya El Mokhtar Ghambou appeared to hold a different position from that of President Uhuru, saying, “The autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty is the best solution to the Sahara issue”.
Ruto said Kenya’s diplomatic force lies in its neutral position regarding regional conflicts and the Sahara conflict should be no exception to the rule.
“As a non-permanent member of the Security Council, it is in Kenya’s interest to support the UN peace process regarding the Sahara issue in compliance with the Heads of States Decision 693.”
“We have no need to provoke unnecessary tensions and divisions within the African Union whose charter is clear: Respect for territorial integrity and no interference with the internal affairs of the member states,” Ruto said.
Uhuru’s Permanent Representative to the AU Ambassador Jean Kamau had at the time said, “For close to 35 years, Kenya has supported the Sahrawi Republic in its quest for self-determination and independence”.
Ruto’s office would, however, later deny he made the remarks backing the autonomy plan.
In his clarification, Ruto said Kenya would continue backing the independence of the Sahrawi republic, a position he changed immediately he was sworn in as President.
On March 1, 2023, however, he received credentials from Ambassador Limam at State House in Nairobi.
