Western Sahara tensions: Kenya names first ambassador to Morocco, nominates envoy to Algeria

Kenya’s intention to bolster diplomatic relations with Morocco took a significant stride on Friday when President William Ruto nominated an inaugural ambassador to Rabat.

Jessica Muthoni Gakinya, who at some point served in the Kenya Fisheries Board, will represent Nairobi's interest in Morocco after Parliament's approval.

The opening of a full-fledged diplomatic mission in Rabat has been completed, and this signals a total turn from previous government stances in bilateral ties between the two nations.

This decision reflects President Ruto’s plan to strengthen ties with “one of North Africa’s biggest players.”

Establishing an embassy in Morocco means Kenya will take its diplomatic presence in the country from an honorary consulate to a full embassy with an ambassador.

Last week, Sports Minister Ababu Namwamba was hosted at the new embassy in Morocco's capital of Rabat.

Nairobi had already deployed a team of officers from the foreign service before the nomination of the first-ever ambassador.

Abdullahi Nurow has been spearheading the process as the Charge D'Affaires and will hand over officially to the new ambassador once she is vetted and approved by parliament.

Shortly after taking office in September 2022, President Ruto, just two days into his presidency, announced Kenya’s withdrawal of recognition for Western Sahara and expressed support for Morocco’s position on the dispute.

The Kenyan leader, who had pledged ‘cheap’ fertiliser for farmers during his campaign, explicitly stated in a now-deleted tweet his intention to “wind down” the presence of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in Nairobi.

This decision was hours later revoked by the foreign ministry after Kenya’s credibility took a beating over the decision to cut ties on X-formerly Twitter with an African Union member state.

“Kenya does not conduct its foreign policy on Twitter,” former Kenyan foreign affairs PS Macharia Kamau said in a note verbale.

Kenya struck multiple deals with Morocco’s state-owned phosphate giant, OCP Group, for the supply of phosphate-based fertiliser.

This deal, according to Morocco World News, helped Ruto deliver one of his key campaign promises of lowering fertiliser prices for struggling Kenyan farmers.

Asked about Morocco’s approach in seeking recognition for Western Sahara as its territory, the former Moroccan ambassador to Kenya, Moukhtar Ghambou, clarified in a 2022 interview with this writer that Morocco’s strategy did not involve dangling carrots.

Instead, he emphasised Morocco’s commitment to engaging with other nations based on mutual respect.

As relations between Nairobi and Rabat strengthen behind the scenes, the casualty in this evolving camaraderie appears to be the Western Sahara, which continues its pursuit of self-independence.

For a considerable time, Kenya has consistently supported the independence of Western Sahara and has remained committed to an age-old African Union policy of recognizing the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as a sovereign state.

During a sideline vaccine manufacturing meeting in Addis Ababa last February, President Ruto and Western Saharan leader Brahim Ghali were seen seated next to each other, both wearing smiles.

However, beneath the surface, geopolitical tensions linger as President Ruto’s softer stance on Morocco contrasts with his predecessor’s support for Western Sahara.

Following Nairobi’s decision to cut ties with Western Sahara, Brahim Ghali, who had attended President Ruto’s swearing-in luncheon at State House Nairobi, remained in Kenya, possibly caught off guard by the shift in policy.

Whether the two leaders engaged in bilateral talks in Addis Ababa remains unknown at this time.

Kenya-Algeria Relations

The diplomatic postings also included an ambassador to Algeria, Timothy Kaluma Mcharo.

If approved by Parliament, the new ambassador will replace Peter Katana who became the first Kenyan ambassador to present credentials to the SADR government exiled in Algerian Tindouf camp in 2022.

The Kenyan ambassador to Algeria has a permanent residence in Algiers.

It is not yet known whether the new envoy will also be accredited to the exiled Western Sahara leadership.

Moroccan and Algerian officials have over time sparred over the fate of Western Sahara.

Considered by the United Nations to be a "non-self-governing territory," 80 per cent of Western Sahara is controlled by Morocco, which envisions autonomy for the region, though it ultimately remains under Rabat's control.

Meanwhile, Algeria has long supported the Polisario Front, an independence movement led by the region's Indigenous Sahrawi population.

A UN mission has been deployed in Western Saharan since 1991, tasked with organizing a referendum on the territory's future.

The referendum has never taken place, and in late 2020, the Polisario announced it was resuming fighting after a long cease-fire.

Since the US recognized Morocco's claims over Western Sahara in 2020, in exchange for Rabat's closer ties with Israel, the kingdom has pursued more assertive diplomatic efforts to garner support from other nations for its stance.