ICC trial risks destabilising region - AG

Legalbrief reports that the 12th ASP meeting which ends on Thursday has discussed issues of cooperation, complementarity, funding for the court and a proposal by the African Union for the exemption of sitting presidents from trial. Kenya's Attorney-General Githu Muigai insisted his country had fully cooperated with the ICC, and wondered why its prosecutor kept accusing the east African nation of not giving her the support she requires. 'Of all the situations currently before the court, I want to challenge anyone to tell the world of a country that has cooperated with the court more than Kenya,' Muigai said. A report on the allAfrica.com site notes that the AG recalled instances where ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had repeatedly filed complaints in court, accusing Kenya of not offering her the cooperation she required to firm up her cases against President Uhuru Kenyatta, his deputy William Ruto and radio journalist Joshua arap Sang. 'These accusations were ridiculous because we had been told by the same prosecutor that she had gathered sufficient evidence ready for the cases, yet on several occasions she turned around to say she is not prepared because the evidence she requires is in Kenya,' Muigai added, according to the report. Full report on the allAfrica.com site

Nairobi used its platform at the meeting to warn that the ICC case against its two highest elected officials risks destabilising the East African region. According to a report on the BDlive site, Muigai said the court and its member states were playing 'Russian roulette' with his country. He was addressing the ASP in The Hague about the cases against Kenyatta and Ruto. 'Our country is the lynchpin in the peace and security involving more than 250-million people from Djibouti to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and everybody in between,' he told the debate which was called at the request of the African Union. He said Kenya - an ally of the West in the fight against militant Islam in neighbouring Somalia - was a 'pillar of security' in eastern Africa, to loud applause from many African delegates, according to the report. It notes Kenya is pressing the ICC's members for a change in the rules to say that heads of state do not have to attend trials, part of a broader campaign to halt the cases against its leaders. Full report on the BDlive site

Ahead of the meeting, Kenya poured cold water on the UK's proposal that Kenyatta and Ruto attend their trials in The Hague through video links. A Standard Digital report says that Kenya's chair of the Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations Ndung'u Gethenji received permission from National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi for MPs to attend an 'emergency sitting' to discuss the status of Uhuru's trial at the ICC. The report states Britain's proposed amendment is being interpreted by MPs as an attempt to scupper Kenya's backing of the AU push for immunity from prosecution for sitting heads of state. A report on the allAfrica.com site notes that insiders at the meeting say the proposal was backed at a meeting attended by officials from the UK, Russia, France, Italy, Brazil, Norway, Chile, Austria, Romania, South Africa, Greece, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Mexico, Sweden, Sierra Leone, Guatemala, Finland, Portugal, Romania, Kenya, Germany, Liechtenstein, New Zealand and Norway. Full Standard Digital report Full report on the allAfrica.com site

South Africa has urged the court to follow its example and pursue reconciliation rather than formal criminal justice in dealing with Kenyatta and Ruto. The Sunday Independent reports that Pretoria supported the attempt for deferral of cases by the Security Council, but has not declared how it will vote on the proposed amendments. But Deputy Justice Minister John Jeffery gave a hint of government thinking during the debate. He said the assembly had to perform a 'very delicate balancing act'. While accountability and the fight against impunity were non-negotiable, peace and stability were critical to the ICC attaining its objectives. Jeffery suggested South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) had achieved this balance. 'I wondered whether South Africa's miracle solution under the TRC process would have been possible if there was an insistence of following a path of formal justice in criminal courts,' he is quoted in the report as saying. Full report in The Sunday Independent

Meanwhile, Business Day says the UN Security Council's recent rejection of the draft resolution submitted by Rwanda calling for the deferral of the cases against Kenyatta and Ruto, has played the ball deftly back to the AU's side of the court. In an editorial it notes that the ICC now has to choose between supporting Kenya if it proceeds with a threatened withdrawal from the ICC and accepting the olive branch that has been offered in the form of proposed amendments to the ICC rules. 'This newspaper strongly urges the AU to grasp with both hands the escape route it is being offered after it painted itself into a corner at an extraordinary AU summit held last month. The intemperate demands that resulted from that summit sent the message that African leaders are more concerned with looking after each other than protecting the rights of the victims of human rights abuses.' Full Business Day editorial (subscription needed)

In another development, three UK diplomats have been accused of interfering in the ICC cases of Kenyatta and Ruto. BBC News reports that the men were evicted from a hotel meeting in Eldoret in the Rift Valley by a local politician for 'violating protocol'. Eldoret is the home of Ruto, who has denied all charges against him. The UK says their High Commission officials were in the area to discuss a sports event to promote peace. Daniel Chemno, the deputy governor of Uasin Gishu county, said their presence had raised suspicion that they were on a mission to collect new evidence and recruit additional witnesses to testify in The Hague. The charges against Ruto and Kenyatta relate to violence following the disputed 2007 election, which left some 1 200 people dead, the report notes. It says diplomatic relations between Kenya and the UK are at an all-time low because of the ICC cases. [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25055561 style=original popup]Full BBC News report