Other nations should share the burden of trying pirates

Rising piracy along the Somali coastline continues to pose a challenge of gigantic proportions to the shipping business on the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.

The fleet of military ships from the European Union, Russia, US and China have gone a long way in reducing the number of attacks on ships and keep ports on eastern and upper southern Africa open for business.

The marines from these armies have foiled numerous attacks and arrested suspects whom Kenya has been willing to detain and try to deter this crime. Reports that Kenya has in the last few weeks said the suspects are no longer welcome does not surprise.

First, the treaty to detain and try the pirates was not done procedurally. Attorney General Amos Wako was neither involved nor did it get Cabinet approval as required by law before it came into force.

Crafting way forward

Secondly, when the Attorney-General asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs to revoke the secret treaty, he did not until Parliament got a whiff of the matter and moved in to stop the trial of piracy suspects.

As Kenya grapples with crafting a way forward, the challenge is where to take the pirates as other countries are still dragging their feet.

There is no doubt that Kenya has been at the forefront of trying to find solutions to political crises in the Horn of Africa. Kenya has also borne the greatest burden for the situations in Somalia and Southern Sudan.

However, the stop on taking more piracy suspects was as a result of illegal procedure rather than pressure on the judicial, penal and security systems. It goes without saying that the developed world’s fleet in the Indian Ocean has had a great impact in checking piracy.

It would, however, help a great deal if developed countries where most of the ships and cargo originate and the countries in eastern Africa that import them would share the burden of trying the suspects.

This would ease the pressure on Kenya and lower the risk of attacks from Somali terrorists.

Good governance and sheer prudence also require that Kenyan authorities adhere to procedure in entering such treaties to avoid the kind of impasse that currently prevails.