Kenyan team in Addis leads push for African alternative to ICC

Kenya’s delegation at the African Union in Addis Ababa last evening expressed confidence that the ratification of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights will be supported by all 53 AU member states because none had opposed the request made by the Council of Ministers.

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed told journalists that the Kenyan team would also continue pushing for the termination of the case against Deputy President William Ruto because even those opposing Kenya’s agenda cannot afford to have their Deputy President spending most of his time out of the country.

Kenya was the first to sign the Malabo Protocol, which proposes the creation of a court to take over an expanded International Criminal Court (ICC) mandate on the continent and offer immunity to sitting heads of state and their deputies.

The proposed immunity has raised the most controversy because it stipulates that no charges shall be commenced or continued before the court against any serving AU head of state or government or anybody acting in such capacity or other senior officials based on their functions during their term of office.

Highest authority

This article was inserted in response to a directive by the AU Assembly, the highest decision-making authority of the Union, and justified as being consistent with the policy of peace and justice.

The concern of the AU was that a head of state might be removed without fully providing for how the country will be managed in the transistion period, and that this would be a recipe for chaos.

Critics argue that such an arrangement only makes such leaders resolve to remain in office until they die, for fear of prosecution.

Yesterday, the Cabinet Secretary refused to comment on a combined campaign by pro-government activists led by Kimani Ngunjiri of The Citizens Coalition, Korir Sing’oei from the Deputy President’s office and some outspoken Jubilee MPs, who met in Addis Ababa on Thursday as part of the Kenyan delegation to push for the speedy creation of the court.

“I have my own opinions and will not speak for anyone else. Let us leave the case to the judges. Our intention is to improve the workings of the International Criminal Court so that it becomes the court of last resort and not of first instance,” said Mohammed.

The group of activists that met in Ethiopia included Ronald Osumba and Major (Rtd) John Seii, accompanied by Senate Majority Chief Whip Beatrice Elachi, Ainabkoi MP Samuel Chepkonga (who is also the chairman of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee), Moses Cheboi (Kuresoi), Ndung’u Gethinji (Tetu), Alice Ng’ang’a (Thika) and David Pkosing (Pokot South).

Others were Mohammed Shidiye (Lagdera) and Barry Shill (Fafi), Moses Otsyula, Nairobi Woman Representative Rachel Shebesh, activist Rose Kisama and Albert Githaiga of the Kikuyu Council of Elders, who also doubles up as the chairman of the National Council of Elders.

The group argued that the continued appearance of Ruto at The Hague was polarising the country and threatening the gains made by the Jubilee administration in uniting Kenyan communities.

Despite the buzz created by the ICC critics, nothing much was heard on the subject from the African leaders Summit on Friday, as they concentrated on other weighty issues such as the control of Ebola, terrorism from Boko Haram and Al Shabaab, and the resolution of armed conflicts in countries like South Sudan, Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo.

It emerged that Benin and Guinea Bisau had signed the protocol by yesterday, while the delegation from Mauritania, led by the erstwhile AU chairman Mohammed Ould Adel Aziz, made a verbal commitment that they were going to append their signature on the Malabo Protocol for the establishment of the African court.

It was not clear if Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni had changed tune after sanctioning the handing over of Lord’s Resistance Army commamnder Dominic Ongwen to the ICC this month.

At the plenary on Friday, President Uhuru Kenyatta enumerated Kenya’s contribution to several humanitarian programmes the AU had undertaken on the continent, including sending nurses and doctors to Ebola-hit countries in West Africa, and the appointment of envoys Kenneth Marende and Major General Lazarus Sumbeiywo to broker peace in Central African Republic and South Sudan, respectively.

Slow steps

Also in the Kenyan delegation were Cabinet Secretaries Anne Waiguru (Devolution) and Davis Chirchir (Energy) and Ambassador Catherine Mwangi.

Keynote speakers at the Nelson Mandela Plenary Hall included the chairman of the African Union Commission, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, the secretary general of the Arab League, Nabil El Arabi, and Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas.

The recently elected presidents of Tunisia, Zambia and Malawi also got the opportunity to make their maiden speeches.

On Friday, the highlight of the forum was when Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, who is 90 years old, made slow steps to the podium to receive the AU leadership instruments before making another of his trademark hard hitting speeches, attacking “colonialists and imperialists”.

It appeared the Kenyan delegation was most interested in the ratification of The Malabo Protocol, which extends the jurisdiction of the African Court to include an international criminal mandate. If it comes into force – after gaining the requisite 15 instruments of ratification – the court will be vested with three distinct but interconnected jurisdictions; human and people rights, general affairs as well as individual responsibility and corporate criminality for a wide range of international crimes.

The leaders came up with the idea after complains were raised that Spain and France were engaging in judicial adventurism by initiating criminal prosecutions against African leaders and citizens for offences that allegedly occurred in Africa.

Once the 15 signatures have been raised, the Protocol and the statute annexed to it will enter into force 30 days after the deposit of the instruments of ratification by the signatory members.

Only the heads of state and Foreign ministers are entitled to sign any commitments of their states.

In addition to the ICC mandate of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and aggression, the protocol provides for ten additional crimes; piracy, terrorism, mercenarism, corruption, money laundering, trafficking in persons, drug trafficking, trafficking hazardous waste and illicit exploitation of natural resources.

Related Topics

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