Kenya allows the ICC to open office - China to support Kenya at the UN over Bashir

TODAY, according to a report just in from the Associated Press, Kenya granted the ICC immunity from legal challenges, tax exemptions and other privileges in a letter signed by Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula. The report says:

The move comes only a week after Kenya hosted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir during a ceremony for Kenya's new constitution.

The ICC registrar has been in Kenya since Wednesday to seek government assurances it will cooperate with the court and educate the public about how it operates.

Full story here below. Note the word I have highlighted in red and the following Quote of the Day from this site's parent blog, Sudan Watch, 21 July 2010 - Ocampo announces ICC's verdict before indictment:

"According to my understanding of the decision, the [International Criminal] Court did not find [Sudanese] President Bashir guilty of these crimes. Rather, it considered that there were reasonable grounds to suppose that he might be guilty. This is an important distinction. While the Prosecutor will argue, in court and in public, that Bashir is guilty, I am surprised that he is announcing a verdict of the Court before there has been an indictment (so far we have an arrest warrant — any indictment will follow a confirmation of charges hearing) let alone a trial." - Dr. Alex de Waal OBE, Making Sense of Sudan, 18 July 2010

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Kenya allows Int'l Criminal Court to open office
By TOM MALITI (AP) – Friday, 03 September 2010

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya on Friday allowed the International Criminal Court to open an office in the country, a development that comes after Kenya's commitment to the court came into question when the nation hosted Sudan's indicted leader last week.

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo is investigating top Kenyan leaders and businesspeople for their roles in the country's December 2007 to February 2008 post-election violence that killed more than 1,000 people.

On Friday, Kenya granted the ICC immunity from legal challenges, tax exemptions and other privileges in a letter signed by Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula.

The move comes only a week after Kenya hosted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir during a ceremony for Kenya's new constitution.

Al-Bashir faces charges of genocide and crimes against humanity at the ICC stemming from the violence in Sudan's Darfur region. Despite being a party to the statute that created the ICC, Kenya did not arrest al-Bashir, arguing that such a move would destabilize Sudan.

That decision provoked an international outcry, including words of rebuke from President Barack Obama, and it raised doubts about the country's willingness to hand over Kenyan suspects expected to soon be charged by the ICC.

The ICC does not have its own police to enforce arrest warrants and it relies on member states such as Kenya to execute them.
Kenyan Cabinet leaders, including Wetangula, met with ICC Registrar Silvana Arbia on Friday.

"We have agreed to comply with every aspect of the (ICC) request for the privileges and immunity which their officers require to be able to undertake their work," said Minister of State for Internal Security George Saitoti, who chairs the Cabinet subcommittee on the ICC.

"I trust that the government of Kenya will fully respect its obligations under the Rome Statute," which established the ICC, Arbia said after receiving the letter.

The ICC registrar has been in Kenya since Wednesday to seek government assurances it will cooperate with the court and educate the public about how it operates.

Moreno Ocampo has said he believes crimes against humanity were committed during Kenya's political violence.

The court allowed him to open an investigation in April and he has said he expects the investigation to conclude by the end of this year. Moreno Ocampo has said he expects to charge up to roughly a half-dozen people who allegedly directed the violence.

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China to shield Kenya at the UN over Bashir
Report from PPS Capital FM - 03 September 2010 - excerpt:

NAIROBI, Kenya - China on Friday declared support for Kenya's decision to invite Sudanese President Omar al Bashir to attend the promulgation of the new constitution in Nairobi last week.

During talks with President Mwai Kibaki, visiting vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Congress (NPC) Chen Zhili pledged China's support for Kenya if the country is subject of discussion at the United Nations Security Council over the issue.

"Kenya as a neighbor and guarantor to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) on the Sudan require the support and not condemnation by the international community in her efforts to broker peace between the Southern and Northern Sudan.", Ms Zhili said.

She expressed appreciation to President Kibaki and the Kenya government for the pivotal role played in brokering peace in Sudan and the horn of Africa.

Zhili who is also the NPC Chairperson of all Women's Federation, assured President Kibaki that China would provide the necessary support towards peace and stability in the horn of Africa. [...]

New envoy to U.S. defends Bashir visit - Kenya's President Kibaki breaks silence on Sudan leader’s visit

Quote of the Day

If Kenya had arrested Mr Bashir, "Sudan would erupt in a civil war that is going to be bigger and more devastating than the civil war [that began] 20 years ago," Kenya's new ambassador to the U.S., Elkanah Odembo, declared. "I'm willing to put my money on it."

Source: see report below.



President Barack Obama participates in a credential ceremony in the Oval Office, Aug. 10, 2010. The President greets Ambassador Elkanah Odembo Absalom of Kenya. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

Kenya: New Envoy to U.S. Defends Bashir Visit
Report from The Nation, Kenya (hat tip: allAfrica.com)
Wednesday, 01 September 2010
By KEVIN J KELLEY

In a talk in Washington on Tuesday sponsored by the international arm of the US Democratic Party, Kenya's new ambassador to the United States vigorously defended the recent visit to Nairobi by Sudan's indicted president.

Ambassador Elkanah Odembo did not explicitly say why President Omar al-Bashir had been invited to take part in the August 27 constitution promulgation ceremony.

But the envoy justified Kenya's willingness to let him travel unimpeded on the grounds that it conformed with Kenya's interest in promoting stability in neighbouring Sudan.

If Kenya had arrested Mr Bashir, "Sudan would erupt in a civil war that is going to be bigger and more devastating than the civil war [that began] 20 years ago," Ambassador Odembo declared.

"I'm willing to put my money on it."

Kenya's envoy, who presented his credentials to President Barack Obama six weeks ago, said "it is certainly important Sudan holds together" until southern Sudan decides in a scheduled January referendum whether to become an independent state.

"I say that as someone who condemns in the strongest possible way the crimes committed against the people of Darfur," Mr Odembo added.

President Bashir has been charged at the International Criminal Court with war crimes arising from the Sudanese government's actions in the country's Darfur region.

Kenya, as a signatory to the treaty establishing the ICC, is obligated to cooperate with the court.

The country's welcome to Mr Bashir drew criticism from President Obama and from human rights groups.

Ambassador Odembo noted on Tuesday that Kenya is the temporary home to many refugees from Darfur who have offered evidence to ICC prosecutors regarding atrocities in Darfur.

The envoy also said Kenya is playing a crucial role as guarantor of the peace agreement that put an end to the war between north and south Sudan that took an estimated two million lives.

He assured the audience at the National Democratic Institute that Kenya's defiance of the ICC in regard to President Bashir does not suggest that Kenya will refuse to cooperate with the ICC's investigation of those thought responsible for the post-election violence.

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President Kibaki is officially received by King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Swaziland on his arrival to the country for the 14th COMESA summit of Heads of State and Government. PHOTO / PPS

Kibaki breaks silence on Sudan leader’s visit
Report from The Nation, Kenya
Wednesday, 01 September 2010 at 22:00
By WALTER MENYA wmenya@ke.nationmedia.com

IN SUMMARY

President asks trade bloc and leaders to support country ahead of referendum

President Kibaki has pointed out that because of the fragile situation in Sudan ahead of the January referendum, the international community should embrace leaders of the oil-rich Eastern Africa state.

In an apparent response to criticism after Kenya hosted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir during the promulgation of the new law last Friday, the president asked the international community to support the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

“It is my wish that the international community would appreciate the delicate situation of Sudan and act proactively. We should not isolate the people of Sudan. Let us encourage them to play their rightful role in the community of nations,” President Kibaki told the 14th Comesa summit of heads of state and government in Ezulwini, Swaziland.

He added: “I call upon all Comesa member-states to support and encourage the people of Sudan to resolve the outstanding issues in the agreement as we look forward to the holding of a peaceful referendum in the Sudan.”

The president said he was impressed with the leaders in the Sudan – President al-Bashir and first Vice-President Salva Kiir — for agreeing to work together.

President Kibaki met Mr al-Bashir at State House Nairobi after the Uhuru Park celebrations where he asked him to stick to the January 9, 2011 referendum date.

And at a meeting with Kenyans living in Swaziland, the President said the new constitution would enable Kenyans in the diaspora enjoy dual citizenship.

Speaking at his Royal Villa presidential suite, President Kibaki said the new constitution would open up many opportunities for Kenyans both at home and abroad.

“Dual citizenship is good because it will enable Kenyans in the diaspora to enjoy the benefits of their country of residence while at the same time make their contribution in the development of their country of birth,” he said.

Kenyans in Swaziland, through their chairman, Mr Haroun Wambua, commended President Kibaki and all Kenyans for the historic promulgation of the new constitution.

Additional reporting by PPS

US suspends $7m Kenya aid over graft

From AFP - ‎26 January 2010:‎

(NAIROBI) — The United States has suspended a seven-million-dollar programme for Kenya's education ministry over a massive corruption scandal, Washington's ambassador Michael Ranneberger said Tuesday.

The move by Kenya's largest single aid partner came a month after Britain froze funding for the ministry of education over the disappearance of 1.3 million dollars.

"The United States government has suspended a planned five-year, seven-million-dollar capacity-building programme for the ministry of education that was scheduled to begin in 2010," Ranneberger said in a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Nairobi.

He added that the suspension would be effective "until there is a credible, independent audit and full accountability."

"Those culpable for the fraud should not merely be sacked; they should be prosecuted and put behind bars," Ranneberger said.

The ambassador generally expressed disappointment with pervasive graft in the country and the lack of accountability over the deadly violence that erupted following the disputed December 2007 polls.

"There is no more glaring example that impunity is alive and well in Kenya than the fact that two years after the events there has been no accountability for the over 1,000 lives lost and 350,000 people displaced," Ranneberger said.

"Those who organised, financed, and perpetrated the violence must be brought to justice, preferably through a local tribunal, but through international investigation and prosecution in the absence of a credible local tribunal."

The governing coalition formed in 2008 with the election's rival camps has been criticised at home and abroad for stalling key reforms recommended by internationally-backed post-violence commissions.

US suspends Kenya school funding

BBC News - ‎Jan 26, 2010‎

The US has suspended $7m of funding for free primary schools in Kenya until fraud allegations are investigated, the US ambassador in Nairobi has said. ...

Kenya Corruption Scandal Triggers Halt to US Education Funds Voice of America

US: Kenya travel advisory to stay Daily Nation

CNN International - Washington Post

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