Igad venue changes as ICC demands Bashir arrest

By James Ratemo and Cyrus Ombati

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) summit scheduled for Nairobi has been moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, The Standard has learnt.

The change of venue came as the International Criminal Court (ICC) demanded Kenya arrests and hands over Sudan President Omar El Bashir if he attends the Igad meeting earlier planned for Nairobi starting Saturday.

Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC requested Kenya to inform it, no later than Friday, if it has any reason why it should not arrest and surrender Bashir in the event he visits the country.

According to the ICC communiquÈ, the Chamber renewed its request to Kenya to take any necessary measure to ensure "Al Bashir, in the event that he travels to Kenya, is arrested and surrendered to the court in accordance with its obligations as a State Party to the Rome Statute since June 1, 2005".

This comes two months after the Chamber reported Kenya to the United Nations Security Council for failing to arrest Bashir when he attended the promulgation of the new Constitution.

The ICC is seeking President Bashir over crimes against humanity committed in Darfur. His visit to Kenya in August sparked global condemnation.

Former ICC Prosecutor Desmond De Silva has also lashed out at Kenya for failing to arrest and surrender Bashir.

De Silva said Kenya was obligated to surrender Bashir to the ICC as per the agreements it signed with the court.

"As far as I am concerned, Kenya signed an agreement with the ICC, and it ought to have honoured part of it by surrendering Bashir. It was wrong for it not to do so," he said.

De Silva, a prominent British lawyer, and former United Nations Chief War Crimes Prosecutor in Siera Leone, prosecuted former Liberian President Charles Taylor.

He spoke on Monday at a Nairobi hotel while giving lectures on international law on the invitation of the Law Society of Kenya.

Taylor’s defence lawyer, Courtenay Griffiths, accompanied De Silva and they are here to train local lawyers on the ICC processes.

More than 20 lobby groups have petitioned President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga not to allow Bashir to attend the Igad meeting.

"A visit by al-Bashir would run counter to Kenya’s commitment to the ICC. It would also send damaging signals to victims of mass atrocity in Darfur and undermine Kenya’s credibility on issues of justice," they said.