NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 17 – Kenya will send special envoys, tasked with explaining the Kenyan ICC scenario, to the 15 current members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has said.
In an interview with Capital News the VP said Kenya would seek the support of the five permanent members – China, UK, Russia, US and France – and also approach the 10 non-permanent members- South Africa, Nigeria, Lebanon, India, Brazil, Gabon, Germany, Colombia, Portugal and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Mr Musyoka explained that Kenya would campaign against a veto by the permanent members as such a vote would see the entire application thrown out.
“We want to remove The Hague and bring it to Nairobi. The deferral would help us get a Judiciary that we are all proud of. We think that before the end of March the ICC matter should have been deliberated at the Security Council level,” he said.
He added that Kenya was also exploring the possibility of directly approaching the ICC but only as a last resort because the process through which the Court named the six Kenyan suspects was faulty.
“It would mean that we have wholeheartedly embraced the ICC approach which is flawed and that will mean that once we are caught up in that web then we cannot leave the ICC. The option of deferral therefore becomes more difficult,” he argued.
Mr Musyoka also said that Kenya needed more time to put her house in order noting that the Vetting of Magistrates and Judges Bill as well as the Judicial Service Bill had already been enacted by Parliament.
“In fact you can see that Mr (Luis Moreno) Ocampo himself was reprimanded by the Pre-Trial judges for disregarding the basic principles of natural justice. And it is not that we are encouraging impunity; we want to see justice for the post election violence victims,” he said.
Various heads of missions speaking to Capital News however said that Kenya would have a heavy task in convincing the Security Council. Dutch Ambassador to Kenya Laetitia van den Assum said Kenya required unity of purpose to convince the UNSC.
While President Mwai Kibaki and the VP favour the deferral motion, Prime Minister Raila Odinga doesn’t.
“On the one hand you see the Vice President traveling around Africa seeking support for the deferral and then you hear that he is only doing that for one part of the government; that is very surprising,” she said.
In the meantime, the VP further challenged the National Cohesion and Integration Commission to hold to account any persons caught making references to the KKK tag arguing that such statements divide Kenyans long tribal lines.
While making reference to remarks made by the Premier, Mr Musyoka said the KKK tag should be banned and penalties imposed on those using it.
He added that he had already written to the integration commission on the same but was yet to get a response.
“The PM keeps on referring to the KKK like he did on his tour to Meru and the North Eastern because that is the only weapon, I think, he has at his disposal now. I have said it before and I am happy the PM himself said it we only have one K,” he quipped.
Mr Musyoka also criticised those calling for the split of the coalition government saying it would undermine progress that the country had made so far in her reform agenda.
He said the split would also call for a snap election, which Kenya was unprepared for.
“Each constituency will have to do some demarcation so that we know which wards will be part of the county government. So it’s a very delicate issue and I don’t think anyone would want to have a snap election,” he said.
Kenya will also have to convince the permanent members of the Security Council that if the ICC process went as planned it would threaten international peace and stability. For any substantive resolution to be passed all the permanent members, have to support it.
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