State to consult African Union on push to withdraw from ICC

The Government says it will consult widely on whether to continue with the push for Kenya to withdraw from the Rome Statute.

The Rome Statute is the treaty that establishes the International Criminal Court (ICC), which on Tuesday terminated the cases facing Deputy President William Ruto and journalist Joshua arap Sang.

The ruling coalition stated it would consult the African Union (AU), East African Community (EAC) and other partners on the way forward in the push for ‘collective withdrawal’ from The Hague-based court.

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale said the Jubilee leadership is waiting for President Uhuru Kenyatta to return home before they can embark on consultations on the way forward on the matter.

“We will consult with the AU and some of our partners on whether we still need to call for withdrawal from the ICC,” said Mr Duale.

In January, AU leaders met in Ethiopia and supported Kenya’s resolve to pullout from the court over perceived unfair targeting of African leaders.

The leaders resolved to draft a strategy of collective withdrawal from the court.

Addressing a press conference at Deputy President William Ruto’s Karen offices, Duale and Senate Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki accused the ICC of targeting the continent unfairly and called for an international justice system that treats all nations equally.

Unnecessary push

The leaders also thanked the AU and EAC for standing with Kenya in seeing that the cases are terminated. They added that former ICC Chief Prosecutor Moreno Ocampo owes the world an explanation for dragging Kenyans through the ICC process despite the cases not being solid.

But the Opposition has always criticised the decision to bolt from the court without an alternative. ODM Elections Director Junet Mohammed yesterday said the push was unnecessary, saying the country had no alternative mechanism to deal with crimes against humanity.