The entanglement in Kenya’s diplomatic tiff with almost all of its neighbours in the East African Community has raised concerns over President William Ruto’s government foreign policy and economic diplomacy with its foremost neighbours.

This is after a decision by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority to ban the operation of Kenya Airways (KQ) flights between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam on Monday raised queries on Nairobi’s engagement with its neighbours, following similar spats with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) recently.

Tanzania imposed a ban that halted passenger flights between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, raising concerns among citizens of the two countries about escalating tensions between the East African neighbours.

This move forced Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi to reach out to Dar es Salam for a swift resolution following the diplomatic dispute over the ban.

“We have jointly agreed that our respective civil aviation authorities will work together to resolve the matter amicably within the next three days. There should therefore be no cause for alarm,” Mudavadi said after discussions with his Tanzanian counterpart January Makamba.

Makamba in a separate statement noted that “we have (together with the Kenyan foreign minister) resolved to settle this issue per existing agreements within three days.”

Tanzania had sought approval for all cargo flights by Air Tanzania to Nairobi, but Kenyan authorities denied the request, citing technical and logistical concerns.

The Kenya-Tanzania flight ban has far-reaching consequences that extend beyond the immediate disruption to air travel. While the most directly affected are passengers and airlines, the ripple effects extend to tourism, businesses, regional trade and even diplomatic relations.

The move could even slow efforts to open up the skies in the region to enable signatories reap benefits of air transport with some nations reluctant to be part of the efforts in the continent.

Member states alone are missing out on 46,320 jobs and $ 202.1 million per annum in GDP, according to the costs and benefits of ‘ Open Skies’ in the EAC if liberalized.

A single air transport services agreement binding all seven East African Community (EAC) partner States is seen as a solution to the exorbitant costs and related challenges. Somalia, Malawi, Seychelles and Burundi are part of the remaining 16 in Africa that are yet to sign to the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).

Kenya has also rubbed its northern neighbor Somalia the wrong way over its relations with the breakaway Somaliland region.

Last month for instance, Senate Speaker Amason Jeffah Kingi appeared to antagonise Mogadishu by suggesting that the breakaway region was a republic with which Kenya “enjoy ties that stretch back to its days under British colonial rule, which bequeathed them almost similar systems and structures of governance at independence.”

Remain unbiased

Kingi went ahead to refer to Mohamed Ahmed Mohamoud, the head of the Liaison Office for Somaliland in Nairobi, as “ambassador to Kenya”.

“We explored new avenues for collaboration and partnerships between our governments and their various institutions, including parliaments of the two countries,” Kingi said in a statement on X on Tuesday.

The statement was shortly deleted but with no apology from Kingi.

Later, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei suggested that Kingi had strayed and confirming that only Parliament has a role to oversee foreign relations as performed by the executive.
“It is Kenya’s established, unchanging foreign policy, consistent with the AU that only the Federal Republic of Somalia is the recognised state entity,” he said.

A fortnight ago, Northern Kenya MPs led by Eldas MP Adan Keynan castigated Ethiopia over it’s deal with Somaliland. The MPs defended Somalia in its current conflict with Ethiopia over recognition of Somaliland as a foreign nation.

Kenya has remained tight-lipped in its position in the conflict but is a member of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) that has organised a meeting in Kampala this week between Thursday and Friday in a bid to solve the diplomatic war between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu.