You must take ICC head on, scholars tell Kenyan government

Law scholars yesterday urged the government to use political muscle to box the International Criminal Court (ICC) into a corner a day after the court’s prosecutor opposed a crucial government application in the ongoing case against Deputy President William Ruto.

During an “intellectual dialogue” on the court held at Strathmore University yesterday, some of the scholars said only a bare-knuckled political fight against the court would save Ruto and his co-accused Joshua arap Sang.

Scholars Macharia Munene, Simeon Sungi, Patrick Maluki, Ken Obura, Kisemei Mutisya and lawyer Moses Kurgat addressed the forum titled “The intellectual dialogue forum on the validity of the Rome Statute in the aftermath of the trial chambers ruling on Rule 68.”.

“One of the things Kenya can do is to destroy the image of the ICC. Kenya has the right to use all instruments of state power at its disposal to end these cases. In the world of politics of international diplomacy, the end justifies the means,” said Dr Maluki, who teaches diplomacy at the University of Nairobi.

He presented a paper on “Diplomacy and foreign affairs as a tool to protect countries interest” in which he rooted for the primacy of people’s sovereignty over every other set up in the international system. Kurgat, who moderated one of the sessions, said the state would have saved all the six Kenyans charged at the court early enough if it had listened to scholars like Dr Maluki.

The scholars spoke as it emerged that Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has asked the appeals chamber to deny Kenya’s request to participate in Ruto’s appeal against use of amended Rule 68 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence.