Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has assured Kenyan legislators that there will be no war with Uganda over control of the Indian Ocean.
Responding to concerns over Ugandan President Museveni’s recent statements hinting at potential conflict over sea access, Mr Mudavadi said Kenya will continue providing its landlocked neighbour with safe passage for goods, in line with international and African Union conventions.
‘On the issue of the Indian Ocean, I just want to say that there are conventions and international obligations which deal with landlocked countries, and the African Union Constitutive Act is one of such instruments,’ Mr Mudavadi told legislators in the National Assembly on Wednesday. ‘So I want to assure you that we are not going to go to war. We have always, since time immemorial, provided free passage for goods from landlocked countries. This is our international obligation, and it also helps our ports grow,’ he added.
Mr Mudavadi’s comments came after Suba South legislator Caroli Omondi requested clarification on Mr Museveni’s remarks about potential use of force to access the sea. Mr Omondi noted that Uganda’s past military operations in South Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have heightened regional concerns. On November 8, speaking on a radio show in Mbale City, Mr Museveni said it was ‘madness’ for landlocked countries to be obstructed from exporting goods via the sea.
‘That is why we have had endless discussions with Kenya. This one stops, another comes. The railway, the pipeline, the what, we discuss. But that ocean belongs to me. I am entitled to that ocean. In the future, we are going to have wars,’ he said. His remarks sparked anger in Kenya, with calls for him to apologise for allegedly inciting conflict with a neighbouring country. Mr Museveni has maintained that landlocked nations have a right to access the sea.
Since President William Ruto assumed office, Kenya’s exports to the region have grown by 108 percent. Uganda has become Kenya’s largest export destination, accounting for 11.3 percent of all Kenyan exports in 2024. However, Uganda accuses Kenya of blocking its goods, in violation of East African Community trade policies.
Assurance
So I want to assure you that we are not going to go to war. We have always, since time immemorial, provided free passage for goods from landlocked countries. This is our international obligation, and it also helps our ports grow,’ Musalia Mudavadi, Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary.