Just because the current American president tweets without caution, it doesn’t mean we should all follow suit.
Caution should be taken when posting comments and opinions about sensitive issues on social media. One should believe that public office holders, especially those who have risen to the prestigious level of Ambassador should know better. But it appears that isn’t the case.
Whether the recent incident between Somalia’s Foreign Affairs ministry and Kenya falls under that reckless abandon or is as a result of gross information incompetence by the ministry, depends on individual consideration of the matter.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Somalia has summoned Kenya's ambassador, Lucas Tumbo over a tweet made by a senior Kenyan public office holder, Macharia Kamau through his official handle @AmbMKamau.
The Somalia Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said the tweet by P.S. Macharia Kamau is offensive and threatens the sovereignty of Somalia.
In a statement, the ministry said it handed Tumbo a protest letter and said it considered the tweet "an affront to Somalia's sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity as well as harmful to the relationship between Somalia and Kenya".
It went on to say, "Somalia stands for good-neighborliness, mutual respect and close cooperation with its neighbors, and expects the same from Kenya."
Macharia Kamau is Kenya's Principal Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He previously served as Kenya's representative to the United Nations and as the former President of the UNICEF Executives Board.
The tweet is in relation to the maritime territory row in which Kenya and Somalia are currently embroiled in at the moment.
The case has been taken before the International Court of Justice and will be addressed from September 9th to 13th of this year at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.
Kenya wants the maritime border to run along parallel latitude southeast of Kiunga, while Somalia, is arguing for a diagonal line down the Kenyan Coast.
The claim by Somalia threatens to make Kenya a landlocked country and risks losing 42 percent of its territory.
Government documents show Somalia has since 1979 recognized and respected the boundary between the two countries along a parallel of latitude, as it is today.
This, however, changed in August 2014, when Somalia hurriedly filed a case at the ICJ. Kenya filed a preliminary objection on the jurisdiction of the court in October 2015.
The tweet had been deleted at the time of filing this report but Twitter users have continued to react to the decision by Somalia authorities to call out the Principal Secretary through the country's ambassador.
Header Image Credit: Business Insider