Drop proposal to withdraw from ICC

The proposal by President Uhuru Kenyatta for African states to withdraw from the Rome Statute enmasse is disturbing.

Granted, the idea was supported by majority of African countries during the African Union (AU) Summit last weekend in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but reading between the lines, the proposal was laced with prejudice and thus unwarranted.

As the saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measure. The AU here seems helpless and overwhelmed by cases facing some Africans in The Hague, hence threats of mass withdrawal.

Methinks that the panacea for African political problems should not be pegged on mass withdrawal from Rome Statute.

African leaders should first put their houses in order. For instance, during the AU summit, the issue of political imbroglio and barbaric bloodletting facing Burundians was not exhaustively addressed and therefore the future of Burundi hangs in the balance.

African leaders should put their money where their mouths are before they advocate mass withdrawal.

Africa is not yet ready to resolve its own political problems amicably. African States need a clean bill of health before withdrawing from the ICC.