NAIROBI — Kenya has moved swiftly to defuse tensions with Uganda after President Yoweri Museveni’s startling remarks about potential “wars over access to the Indian Ocean,” signaling that Nairobi remains committed to regional cooperation and lawful access for landlocked neighbors.
Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi on Monday said Kenya is a responsible regional partner and would continue facilitating Uganda’s use of the port of Mombasa, in line with international conventions that guarantee landlocked states access to the sea.
“Kenya is a responsible member of the international community,” Mudavadi said during a briefing on Kenya’s foreign policy. “It is in our interest to facilitate any landlocked country that wishes to use the port of Mombasa. And in any case, what would be the value of the port if it does not generate revenue?”
Mudavadi’s comments followed Museveni’s recent warning that Uganda might have to “fight future wars” to secure access to the Indian Ocean for economic and defense reasons — a statement that raised alarms across East Africa.
Kenya’s response was measured. Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei emphasized that Nairobi and Kampala share deep historical and economic ties and that Kenya respects Uganda’s legitimate transit rights under international law.
“I believe very much that President Museveni understands our rights with respect to our natural resources, and his rights within Ugandan territory,” Sing’oei said.
Analysts view Kenya’s approach as a deliberate effort to avoid escalation and reaffirm its role as the region’s diplomatic anchor. The government underscored that it is guided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which grants landlocked states the right of access to and from the sea — but also protects the sovereignty of coastal transit states.
Article 125 of the convention guarantees freedom of transit through the territory of transit states, provided such arrangements are agreed upon through bilateral or regional negotiations.
Foreign policy expert Gordon K’achola noted that Museveni’s statements appeared to stretch the legal concept of access beyond its intended meaning. “The law does not create a right to sovereign territory on the coast,” K’achola said, adding that “if Museveni seeks exclusive footholds or de facto control, that could be viewed as encroachment and provoke strong responses from Kenya or Tanzania.”
He warned that while legal frameworks support Uganda’s access to ports, any move to claim coastal territory could “indeed cause the kind of war Museveni mentioned.”
Despite the rhetoric, Kenyan officials have sought to keep the focus on economic cooperation rather than confrontation. “Peaceful engagement and shared prosperity remain Kenya’s approach,” Mudavadi said, urging diplomatic channels to prevail over political posturing.
