Kenya suffered diplomatic blow as several African countries rejected attempts to pull out of the International Criminal Court in the ongoing African Union summit in Addis Ababa.
Leading the charge was the Kingdom of Lesotho which went ahead to call for more AU members to join the world court. Other countries which reaffirmed their commitments to the ICC included Ivory Coast whose former President Laurent Gbagbo is currently being tried at the ICC. The Democratic Republic of Congo and the Gambia also supported the International Criminal Court.
Perhaps, the biggest surprise came from Kenya which failed to call on other countries to pull from the world court en masse, despite popularising such a rhetoric at home.
Kenya claimed its position on the ICC has been ‘misunderstood’ even as it pushed for the African Human and Peoples Court. Interestingly, Kenya’s strong show was to repeat an old narrative hitting at ‘veto wielders’ the United Nations Security Council.
Kenya’s delegation to AU also included such idle jokers as David Matsanga and wheeler dealers like Chris Kirubi, making observers wonder whether the government is real in its push to opt out of the ICC or just posturing for local political reasons.