PHOTO | FILE Deputy President William Ruto is welcomed by his lawyer
Karim Khan to the International Criminal Court at The Hague for the
Status Conference of his case earlier. He is accompanied by his wife
Rachel (centre).
DPPS
- In Africa, the Jubilee government has been lobbying the continent’s leaders to put up a spirited fight to either terminate the ICC cases or have them tried by the African Court of Justice
President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William
Ruto are still just as shackled to the International Crimininal Court
cases 100 days into their government as they were months before the last
elections.
While they overcame the ICC-related obstacles to
win the presidential race in March, how they handle the charges they
face at The Hague could define their term at the helm.
Though their legal teams are fighting the court
battle of their lives, their clients, since winning the election, have
chosen to advance the quest for their freedom from the Luis
Moreno-Ocampo-initiated charges on both continental and international
stages.
Insiders at The Hague say the Kenya case will be
pursued to the most logical end as it is a demonstration of the
relevance of the ICC, which has faced its fair share of criticism.
Despite facing charges on crimes against humanity,
President Kenyatta and Mr Ruto contested and won the election against a
backdrop of warnings from the United States and a couple of European
Union member states.
A senior US diplomat on African Affairs warned
that “choices come with consequences”, while the UK and key EU member
states said they would only have “essential relations” with an Uhuru-led
government.
The diplomatic community was left in a quandary.
There was apprehension that their respective countries’ determination to
nurture democracy, end impunity and bring to justice perpetrators of
crimes against humanity in the world would be thrown to the wind if they
stood arm-in-arm with the Jubilee government.
“The policy of my government remains that we do
not have contact with ICC indictees, unless it is essential,” said
British High Commissioner Christian Turner in February this year.
This triggered the fear that the West could come up with sanctions against Kenya — a tool mostly used against nations that are perceived to be “enemies” of the US and the EU. In fact, the phrase “essential contact” was coined by the US to define its relations with some Middle Eastern countries that, while it was necessary to relate with, Uncle Sam believed could not serve Washington’s interests in the region.
This triggered the fear that the West could come up with sanctions against Kenya — a tool mostly used against nations that are perceived to be “enemies” of the US and the EU. In fact, the phrase “essential contact” was coined by the US to define its relations with some Middle Eastern countries that, while it was necessary to relate with, Uncle Sam believed could not serve Washington’s interests in the region.
In the face of this position by the West, the
Uhuru administration turned East, especially towards China and Japan,
for aid, trade and diplomatic relations.
In so doing, the Jubilee government thrust itself
into the “voluble war” between China and the West over Africa, a
continent seen by both as a growing platform for trade, resources and
development aid.
Recently, speaking on African soil, US President Barack Obama cautioned African countries against relations with the East.
Without mentioning names, President Obama described the Sino-Africa
relations as a one-way street spiced with exploitative trade tricks.
“When we look at what other countries are doing in
Africa, I think our only advice is ‘make sure it’s a good deal for
Africa’,” he said.
“Somebody says they want to come build something
here. Are they hiring African workers? Somebody says ‘we want to help
you develop your natural resources’. How much of the money is staying in
Africa? The profits stay there, the jobs stay there and not much stays
in Africa.”
It is significant to note that President Obama skipped Kenya during his second trip to Africa,
stating that the “timing was not right for me as President of the
United States to be visiting Kenya when those issues need to be worked
on.”
The “issues” he was talking about were the fact
that his would-be-hosts, President Kenyatta and Mr Ruto, are about to
face trial at The Hague, together with former Kass FM broadcaster Joshua
arap Sang.
As it plays down President Obama’s exclusion of
his father’s homeland from his African itinerary, the Jubilee government
has been waging a tough battle at the UN headquarters in New York,
requesting the world body’s Security Council to terminate the Kenya
cases.
In May, Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the
UN Macharia Kamau sent a letter to the UN Security Council requesting
the ICC to terminate the cases against the President and his deputy,
arguing the trials were a threat to Kenya’s national security and
undermined the country’s sovereignty.
Mr Kamau also said ICC should leave Kenya alone to allow Kenyatta and Ruto to lead the new government.
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