Africa should follow in Israel's footsteps and recognise Somaliland

Somaliland Mission premises at Runda, Nairobi on May 29, 2025. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Some political questions refuse to go away, not because they are complicated, but because answering them would require a degree of honesty that we often overlook. Somaliland is one such case. For more than three decades, it has governed itself, held elections, maintained security, and managed its affairs with little outside assistance. And yet, officially, it remains unseen.

Israel’s December 26, 2025, decision to recognise Somaliland as a sovereign and independent state, the first country in more than three decades to extend such recognition, has brought that contradiction back into view.