State Terminates Space Centre Treaty with Italy
Kenya and Italy are on the verge of escalating their diplomatic dispute after Kenya initiated the process to withdraw from a joint treaty, accusing Italy of endangering Kenya’s sovereignty.
Aden Duale, cabinet secretary for defense, informed members of parliament that he had informed the president and attorney general of Kenya’s intention to withdraw from the bilateral treaty he deemed unfair to Kenya.
Duale asserts that Italy has refused to fulfill its share of an agreement between Italy and Kenya for the establishment of the Lugi Brogoli Malindi Space Center.
The Cabinet Secretary, who was appearing before the National Assembly Implementation Committee chaired by Budalangi MP Raphael Wanjala, implored the members of parliament to assist them in expediting the treaty’s termination.
He was accompanied by Brigadier Hilary Kipkosgei, the interim director general of the Kenya Space Agency.
The facility that has generated billions of shillings for Rome through the sale of data has been hosted in the nation for the past six decades.
“Despite this agreement’s existence for the past six decades, Kenya has yet to experience any significant local or national benefits. The only beneficiary of the center is the Italian government. Duale stated that the Italian party has only made token efforts to fulfill a few obligations while avoiding the substantive ones.
“The land they possess is ours, and we know how to seize it, but we have stipulated that Parliament must be consulted if we terminate the agreement, which is why we are here. Since we have already briefed the Commander-in-Chief on this matter, we have already sent them a communication. We will also prepare a Cabinet memo with a clause requiring the approval of this committee before withdrawing.
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Duale stated that Rome has thwarted his efforts to have Kenya benefit from the commercial activities in which the Italian government is engaged with third parties.
To demonstrate a lack of benevolence, Duale disclosed that the previous Parliament’s executive and legislators were denied access to the facility.
“During the previous Congress, we were denied access to the facility. Also, as majority leader, I refused to introduce this agreement so that the Kenyan and Italian governments could meet and negotiate. “To my surprise, two months after I was removed as majority leader, this agreement was brought back to Parliament and approved by the House,” the CS explained.
Duale added that the current commercial activities at the Malindi Space Centre exclusively benefit the Italian government via the Italian Space Agency and its Western partner agencies through the provision of tracking, telemetry, and command TTAQ services, as well as space science and astronomical data to the western scientific community, at the expense of Kenya.
According to the CS, he has sent numerous protest letters to Italian authorities to convey the government’s disapproval of the deal. Each letter has been disregarded.
The aftermath has been so severe that the CS has informed MPs that he will not attend a joint inter-ministerial meeting in Rome on July 18 unless his demands are met and Kenya benefits from the treaty.
State Terminates Space Centre Treaty with Italy
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