Kenya is not at war with its neighbours- Mudavadi
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has denied reports of deteriorating relations between Kenya and its neighbours in the East African region.
Speaking during a church service in Teso, Busia County, on Sunday, January 21, Mudavadi dismissed the alleged fallout as a creation of the media.
Mudavadi, who doubles as Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, affirmed that the country was not at war with its neighbours and urged the local media to desist from painting the Kenya Kwanza administration in bad light.
He insisted that any issues that have arisen in the recent past have been resolved diplomatically.
"In war, there are no winners; everybody is a loser. But in peace, there are no losers. As Kenyans, let us maintain peace in our country. I want to tell our brothers and sisters in the media that Kenya is not at war with any of its neighbours. In fact, our President, William Ruto, is on the front line in championing peace in the region to ensure that the instability in some of our neighbours doesn't spill over to Kenya," Mudavadi stated.
"Please, media, there is no problem with our neighbours as far as Kenya is concerned, and if there are any issues, they are solved diplomatically," he added.
Diplomatic tiffs
In recent months, Nairobi has found itself entangled in diplomatic disputes with Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Sudan, the DRC, and Somalia for various reasons, sparking concerns from various quarters including the opposition.
For instance, Kenya has been embroiled in a dispute with Uganda over a botched oil deal that saw Kampala sue Nairobi at the East African Court of Justice in Arusha, Tanzania.
Early this month, Sudan recalled its ambassador to Kenya in protest against the warm reception given to Sudanese paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo by President William Ruto.
Dagalo's visit to Kenya came amid the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under Dagalo, popularly known as Hemedti.
Kenya has since denied taking sides in the war, insisting that the meeting between Ruto and Dagalo was aimed at fostering lasting peace in Sudan.
Similarly, Mudavadi was recently forced to reach out to Tanzania following the suspension of Kenya Airways flights.
Tanzania had banned Kenya Airways flights between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in retaliation to Kenya's move to block Air Tanzania from operating cargo flights between Nairobi and other countries.
The restrictions were dropped following talks between Mudavadi and his Tanzanian counterpart January Makamba.
In December last year, Kenya was forced to disassociate itself from Congolese opposition figures who forged an alliance with rebels in Nairobi, sparking a diplomatic row with Kinshasa.
