Role of Somalia’s Constitution in Resolving the Kenya-somalia Maritime Boundary Dispute

Executive Summary

This paper examines the strategic leads that the Somalia constitution provides to Kenya and Somalia on the delimitation
of the ongoing maritime dispute. The leads include delimitation of the territory of the Somalia; simmering conflict over
federalism; handling Somalia post-2021 elections fallouts and; simmering conflict over petroleum legislative processes. Key findings are drawn from expert opinions and comprehensive desktop review of documented sources. The paper concludes that implementation of the Somalia’s provisional constitution faces a number of challenges which offer leverage for the Kenyan government in seeking alternative mechanisms for the resolution of the maritime dispute through institutional-level dialogues. Key recommendations include the need for Kenya to use the constitutional provisions to intensify engagements with United Nations to bring Somalia back to the negotiation table; Influence African Union (AU) to pursue mediation between Mogadishu and the opposing Federal Member States and; put in place appropriate mechanisms for managing post-election fallouts in Somalia.