The International Criminal Court has dismissed threats issued by African Union leaders over the ongoing cases against Kenyan leaders Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto in The Hague.
A statement released today by ICC Outreach Co-ordinator Maria Kamara
said the two Kenyan cases at the Hague will go ahead despite the stance
taken by the AU leaders calling for dropping of the cases.
Kamara
said a resolution by the AU leaders in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia was
political and cannot affect a judicial process against Kenyatta, Ruto
and radio presenter Joshua arap Sang.
She said political intrigues and pressure have no effect on the ongoing cases.
Kamara was speaking a day after the resolution that urged the ICC to drop the charges against Kenyatta and Ruto.
The African leaders hit out at the ICC claiming it was a tool being used by western nations to punish ‘errant’ African leaders.
The
leaders in a motion moved by Uganda and seconded by South Sudan called
for fresh investigations to be conducted on the 2008 post election
violence in Kenya saying the former Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo did a
shoddy job.
The AU resolution warned that if the leaders' demands
are not heeded, the 34 members who signed the Rome Statute that set up
the Hague-based court will have to pull out of the ICC
But the ICC statement said the court case is a legal process and can not be influenced through political pressure.
Kamara said the decision by the AU was misplaced as it did not have any legal basis.
Former
United States Secretary for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer who has been
sympathetic to the Kenyan cases said the African leaders had a valid
point.
Jendayi Frazer who served during the George Bush
administration claimed the ICC was being used by the West to fight rogue
African states.
She was also once quoted as saying the Kenyan cases were politically motivated.
By Daniel Korir
No comments:
Post a Comment