AU opens new battlefront in bid to postpone ICC case against PresidentUhuru Kenyatta

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed greets the Emir of Kuwait Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah. (Photo:PSCU)

By Robert Nyasato
Kenya: The Government is banking on a proposal to shield sitting presidents from prosecution to block the trial of President Uhuru Kenyatta in The Hague which might cause fresh friction with the West.
Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed said the African Union would spearhead amendment of the Rome Statute to provide immunity from prosecution to sitting heads of state and government.

Mohamed expressed confidence the proposed amendment would secure two-thirds backing from 122 members of the ICC attending the Assembly of States Parties that opens on Wednesday at the World Forum Convention Centre in The Hague, The Netherlands.
The amendment, she said, was in the interest of peace and reconciliation in Kenya, suggesting Uhuru will be the first beneficiary if the amendment is  adopted.
Mohamed added that Kenya “will continue to engage constructively” on the ICC matter to its logical conclusion after the failure by the UN Security Council to sanction deferral of the Kenyan cases.
“We are going to the State Parties meeting at The Hague. We will present the AU proposal for amendment of the Rome Statute and are optimistic of a positive consideration,” Amina said Monday in Kuwait ahead of the third Afro/Arab Summit. Uhuru is attending the meeting.
In Nairobi, Attorney General Githu Muigai also expressed confidence the proposed amendment to the Rome Statute, which establishes the ICC, will prevail.
Asked what Kenya’s next plan will be if the amendments also being pushed by the AU are not adopted, Prof Muigai said that was not a possibility.
“It is not a possibility that the recommended proposals will not pass because they have been worked on for months now,” said Muigai adding that other non-African countries were also sponsoring the amendments.
Video conferencing
The push by AU for discontinuation of the trial of the Kenyan leader is at odds with the proposal by Britain that is pressing for trial via video conferencing.
The United Kingdom, which is among the eight UNSC members that abstained from the vote that sunk Kenya’s deferral request, has proposed an amendment so Uhuru and Ruto are not required to be present in The Hague courtrooms.
“A number of amendments have been tabled, including one by the United Kingdom on presence through video technology,” UK Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told the UNSC on Friday while explaining the Assembly of States Parties meeting is the right forum to address Kenya’s concerns.
The ICC has also made arrangements for a possible trial without the Kenyan leaders being physically present at the The Hague.
“Additionally, in the Kenya cases Chambers envisage having the accused follow the hearings via video teleconferencing (VTC) from Nairobi,” provides the 2014 ICC budget proposal that will be approved at the conference next week.
Monday, Amina said African states would meet to discuss the way forward after rejection of their petition over Kenya ICC cases by the UNSC.
“The decision by some permanent members of the UNSC to abstain from voting on AU request for deferral of ICC cases facing President Kenyatta and his deputy was a disappointment,” Amina said.
Muigai was optimistic the assembly will pass proposed amendments to the rules of procedure for the international court.
Speaking Monday on the sidelines of a seminar on socio-economic and cultural rights jurisprudence for judicial officers in East Africa at the Judiciary Training Institute, Nairobi, the AG said the amendments were significant to Kenya.
Consensus
“I am going to attend the conference, to among other things, review proposals of procedure to make the court more user-friendly,” Muigai said.
The AG clarified the conference would not take a vote on the proposed amendments but will try to resolve the issues through consensus.
At the ICC conference member states will also deliberate on the ICC budget, appoint court officials and review ongoing cases, among others, amid fears that some member countries have not remitted their dues.
Muigai confirmed that Kenya had met its financial obligation to the court.
Other proposed amendments include adoption of new investigation strategies to address concerns regarding collection of evidence through intermediaries
Uhuru’s case is scheduled to commence in February next year. The trial of Deputy President William Ruto resumes this week. 
The Hague court ceded some ground after it allowed the President and his deputy to attend the trials alternately to avoid a constitutional crisis. Jubilee MPs have told the President and his deputy to snub The Hague trials if the Kenyan concerns are ignored.
The Jubilee Government might also be exploring the possibility asking for a review of the UNSC decision.
Speaking at the same forum, Senate Leader of Majority Kithure Kindiki said there were provisions for appealing against the UNSC verdict.
Meanwhile, leaders from Nakuru County Monday asked the ICC to stop the cases facing President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto.

The MPs who were angered by the decision of the UN Security Council to reject the bid to defer the ICC cases asked the ICC to leave Kenyan leaders alone and allow them focus on development. They were speaking during the homecoming party of Mary Mbugua, the Nakuru County woman representative.