Revealed: The AU case for Kenyan President

The case against Kenya President
Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, Mr
William Ruto, should be put on hold so
that the two leaders focus on leading
the fight against international
terrorism, the African Union has told
the UN Security Council.
They should also be freed to
participate in easing ethnic tensions in
the country, which pose a threat to
internal security, the AU argues.
In its 20-page letter to the Security
Council, the African Union describes
terrorism as a threat to regional
stability.
The African Union has brought
unprecedented pressure to bear on
the Security Council to order a
deferral on the crimes against
humanity cases facing the President
and his deputy.
An appeals chamber at the ICC last
week ruled that Mr Ruto should not be
excused from attending court. The
Prosecutor, Ms Fatou Bensouda, has
appealed a decision excusing Mr
Kenyatta from some sessions. (Read:
ICC now wants Kenyatta to stay in The
Hague)
In the letter submitted to the council
last week, the AU also said that Kenya
had undertaken significant reforms in
its courts and the police since the
2007/2008 post-election violence and
the gains made in national healing and
reconciliation could be undone if the
cases facing Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto
are not deferred.
The letter also said President Kenyatta
and Mr Ruto have been leading peace
and reconciliation initiatives in the
country under the 2010 Constitution.
"Kenyans democratically elected their
leaders in March 2013 and they expect
that their leaders will discharge their
constitutional responsibilities as
elected executive leaders of the
Republic of Kenya. This, if not
considered, will be adversely impacted
by the process at The Hague and thus,
will undermine progress as well as
threaten Kenya’s peace and stability,”
the 49 African states whose
representatives signed the letter, said.
"In light of the peace and security
situation in Kenya and the region, the
African Union member States would
like to submit a formal request for a
deferral of the proceedings against the
President and the Deputy President of
the Republic of Kenya."
Handed letter
The UN Security Council President for
the month of October, Azerbaijani’s
Agshin Mehdiyev was handed the AU
letter by Kenya’s ambassador to the
UN, Mr Macharia Kamau, on October
21.
The letter was drafted as a follow-up
to the Extra-Ordinary AU Summit held
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Monday
last week.
During the Addis summit, the African
countries present told Mr Kenyatta not
to attend his trial, which opens on
November 12 in The Hague. They said
they would make a major statement on
that day if the UN Security Council fails
to defer the Kenya cases.
Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto are facing
four and three counts of crimes
against humanity, respectively, in
connection with the 2007/2008 post-
election violence in which 1,133 people
were killed and 650,000 displaced. The
violence was sparked by a dispute over
the results of the 2007 presidential
election.
This week, seven African ministers are
set to meet the UN Security Council to
push for the deferral of the Kenya
cases. They will be led by the
chairman of the AU Council of
ministers, Dr Tedros Adhanom of
Ethiopia.
The meeting, which was to be held in
New York Sunday, will now be held on
Thursday.
'All options'
Kenya Attorney-General Githu Muigai
said the country will use all the options
available to her should the AU request
for a deferral be defeated.
"We expect to reach a reasonable
agreement with the UN Security
Council and the ICC on this matter.
However, Kenya reserves her right to
all options available to her according
to our domestic and international
law," he said in an interview with
Radio France.
He said that even though President
Kenyatta and Mr Ruto were taken to
The Hague as individuals, the
government has been filing
submissions to explain facts on issues
that have been coming up.
“Kenya has filed several amicus curiae
(friend of the court) submissions to
clarify issues. We have continued to
engage the court and we will
cooperate," he said.
Kenya and the AU are pegging the
deferral request on the provisions of
Article 16 of the Rome Statute, which
states that the Security Council can
request the ICC to suspend any
ongoing trials, or investigations for a
period of 12 months, with a possibility
of a further extension.

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