Germany urges Kenya to cooperate with ICC

By Peter Opiyo

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Kenya to cooperate with the International Criminal Court over the post-election violence cases being handled by The Hague based court.

Merkel who met President Kibaki at State House, Nairobi said they discussed with the president that it was imperative that Kenya cooperates with the court.

"We discussed that it is good and timely for Kenya to cooperate with ICC," said Merkel.

Six Kenyan high profile suspects made initial appearance before The Hague court in April over the post-election violence and are set to go for confirmation of hearings on September 1.

Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, reportedly under the instructions of President Kibaki had earlier engaged in shuttle diplomacy to lobby select African leaders to rally behind Kenya in rejecting the ICC process.

The government, through Attorney General Amos Wako, also filed an application challenging the admissibility of the cases. The ICC however dismissed the application in May arguing Kenya’s cases were properly before the Court.

Merkel also said that they discussed the fight against corruption as well as measures that should be taken to ensure that next year’s general election are peaceful, saying Germany is ready to work with Kenya for a peaceful election.

Kibaki praised the German government for availing 140 million Euros (Sh17 billion) to fund various projects between 2010 and 2013. The projects are of social nature and are critical to the attainment of Millennium Development Goals.

He also drew attention of German investors to various projects and urged them take advantage of the good relations between the two countries.

"I have recommended to German investors the lucrative infrastructural projects for the construction of Lamu Port and the Lamu-Ethiopia-South Sudan rail, road and pipeline link," said Kibaki.

The Chancellor also announced that her government would avail one million euros (Sh124 million) to aid refugees in Dadaab camp.

Kibaki said Kenya has also enlisted the support of Germany to strengthen the United Nations Environmental Programme (Unep) and ensure that its headquarters remains in Nairobi.

On the regional front the President said Kenya would remain committed to ensuring a peaceful region and expressed happiness for leading peace efforts that led to the declaration of independence of South Sudan.

President Kibaki said the two countries also underscored the need for the international community to support and strengthen the capacity of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government.