According to a report submitted to Parliament, the committee recommends that the government uses diplomatic channels to conclusively address the matter with the concerned friendly nations/FILE
According to a report submitted to Parliament, the committee recommends that the government uses diplomatic channels to conclusively address the matter with the concerned friendly nations.
Committee chairman Adan Keynan said given the cordial relationship between UK and Kenya, the latter should have co-operated with Kenyan authorities to allow for conclusive investigations.
“Given the sensitivity of the ICC and the electoral processes it would have been fair for the UK government to have cooperated to allow for conclusive investigations,” said the committee.
The committee says their investigations were hindered by immunities guaranteed to diplomats through the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Members of Parliament through the National Assembly Powers and Privileges Act.
The British High Commission in Nairobi and other international agencies refused to allow Kenya Police to undertake investigations, citing diplomatic protocols.
The committee concluded that “Kenya was not treated with the respect commensurate with the cordial historical ties with the UK government.”
The team recommends that Kenya “must implement a policy of equal treatment and non-interference from other nations.”
The committee further noted that two MPs Aden Duale (Dujis) and Charles Kilonzo (Yatta) who had initially tabled the ‘dossier’ in the House, declined to give evidence before the committee on the origin of the information.
The documents alleged that the European Union and the UK were major financial supporters of the ICC and were working to interfere with the Kenyan cases at The Hague based court.
Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Ongeri is reported to have told the committee that he received an unsigned ‘note verbale’ (diplomatic note) from the British High Commissioner on the matter.
The note said that although the UK government does not usually comment on leaked documents, it had taken a look at the dossier and established that it was not genuine.
“Evidence of this includes both misleading and implausible content and a plethora of spelling and grammatical mistakes.”
The House Committee travelled to Washington DC, New York, The Hague, Belgium and the United Kingdom in its investigations.
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