News 2005

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Update: 04.04.2005

Update: 17.06.2005

Update: 17.06.2005

Muite files notice of motion against the US

Story by ODHIAMBO ORLALE
Publication Date: 06/17/2005

Parliament is set to debate a historic party-sponsored motion seeking to assert Kenya's sovereignty following pressure by the US to sign a controversial treaty. 

The United States government wants Kenya to ratify an agreement which would shield its soldiers from trial for crimes committed against humanity.

The motion, to be moved by Mr Paul Muite (Kabete, Safina), wants Kenya's sovereignty and dignity to come ahead of military support and aid from any quarters.

The Safina MP gave notice of his motion on Wednesday, saying it would also seek to express the members' disapproval of refusal by the US to ratify the International Criminal Court Treaty.

The signing of the agreement is meant to ensure that each country would agree not to surrender a national of the other country to the International Criminal Court or any international tribunal, without the permission of that person’s country. 

The ICC is a permanent international tribunal that will try individuals responsible for the most serious international crimes.

The tribunal will prosecute individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against immunity.

Already, the US Government is set to suspend some Sh1.2 billion in military support to Kenya due to the Government’s failure to sign the bilateral non-surrender agreement.

It has suspended a training course for Kenyan soldiers from different disciplines planned for next month in the US.

In supporting his motion, the Kabete MP says that the Kenyan Government ratified the treaty, also referred to as the Rome Stature, on March 15, 2005, but the US government has refused to sign it and had instead sought to coerce countries, including Kenya, to sign the Non-Surrender Bilateral Agreement (Article 98 Agreement).

In the late 1990s, the Kabete MP moved a similar motion touching on Kenya's sovereignty over the legal status of the controversial Elemi triangle on the border of Kenya, Uganda and Southern Sudan.

The controversial motion was debated in camera and nothing has been made public about who supported or opposed it, and what was the final consensus.

Meanwhile, Mr Macharia Mukiri (Molo, Narc) also gave notice of a motion which will seek to have the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) entrenched in the Constitution.

The Molo MP wants section 26 (c) of the Constitution amended to accommodate the anti-corruption body.

Mr Mukiri wants the AG's powers to take over cases by entering a nolle prosequi reduced and the KACC given the powers to prosecute. 

Says the motion: "This House do grant leave to introduce a Bill for an Act of Parliament entitled the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill 2005, to amend section 26(c) of the Constitution and to introduce section 26 (A) for the purpose of entrenchment of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission in the Constitution and for matters incidental thereto and connected therewith."

KACC is one of the 17 watchdog bodies, in and outside Parliament, mandated to fight the corruption.

Kenya stands to lose if it doesn't sign US treaty

Daily Nation
Publication Date: 06/16/2005

One gets saddened over the impending serious souring of US/Kenya relations over the International Criminal Court affair. Many countries have signed ICC exemption treaties with the US. 

Apart from pleasing some radicals who wish Kenya to have bad relations with the US , what good can come from such a needless quarrel? Other powers like India and China have refused to ratify the ICC as well, yet only the US is singled out. 

Blatant lies are being spread by those wishing harm to US/Kenya relations, as if the US is arm-twisting Kenya to exempt US citizens of being accused or tried for war crimes or genocide. This is not true. Any American (or Kenyan) so accused could be tried under Kenya law (or US law), even with the ICC exemption. This preserves Kenya's sovereignty. 

America says it vigorously supports and helps pay for UN War Crimes tribunals on a case-by-case basis in Rwanda, Yugoslavia and other places. It says it is opposed to the ICC because that body will bypass the UN Security Council as the supreme forum for genocide and war crimes. On the other hand, the US needs to show more sensitivity to the needs of Kenya. 

Kenya will continue to be a targeted by terror groups, no matter what. The US has helped Kenya, particularly with Agoa, fight against Aids and combating terrorism. 

US Military aid to Kenya is free in most cases. Yet an act of Congress will prevent any military aid after July 1, to countries which do not grant US soldiers and civilians ICC exemptions, unless they are NATO or allied countries. 

It is in the interests of both to remain allies for regional stability and to combat terrorism. Those who seem determined to change Kenya from being an ally of the US to a neutral or even hostile country should think carefully. 

ANTHONY J. COVINGTON, Nairobi.

PARLIAMENT is expected to censure the US government for it’s demands for a bilateral immunity agreement by Kenya, if a motion by Kabete MP Paul Muite is approved.

The MP yesterday gave a notice of the motion seeking Parliament to reject the US demands that have already caused Kenya the US’s military support. Muite said the US pressure on the government to sign Article 98 Agreement, would, if granted result in the abuse of international law.

In the motion, Muite expresses concern that the United States of America has refused to sign the International Criminal Court treaty (also referred to as the Rome Statutes) — which Kenya ratified on March 15, 2005 and has gone ahead to coerce Kenya to sign the agreement.

If granted, the agreement would bar Kenya and the USA to surrender to each other citizens suspected of genocide, money laundering and war crimes to the International Court of Justice (ICC).

The US opposes the ICC, and has handed down tough economic measures against those countries that do not sign the immunity agreements with it.

The ICC treaty has, however, been signed by a number of countries for it to come into force, Kenya being one of them. All the 25 members of the European Union have signed the treaty.

The US opposes ICC on the argument that the treaty gives immense powers to the prosecutors, unlike in the present situation where prosecutors at International Crimes Tribunals are answerable to the UN Security Council.

But the US demands have faced opposition in Kenya, especially among the civil societies which see in it US general opposition to multilateralism in international affairs.

Muite’s motion reads in part: “This House expresses its abhorrence to the conduct of the United States of America in refusing to ratify the international Criminal Court Treaty (The Rome Statute) and its attempts to coerce countries to sign the Non Surrender Agreements ( Article 98 Agreements) at the risk of curtailment of military and other economic aid and assistance and calls on the government NOT to sign the Non Surrender bilateral Agreements and further expresses its solidarity with the government and the people of Kenya on the stand that Kenya’s sovereignty and dignity must come first ahead of military support and aid from any quarters.”

Update: 04.04.2005

ICC: US pressure on Kenya over immunity

The United States is attempting to "blackmail" Kenya into giving US nationals immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC), an advocacy group charged last week.

Kenya is feeling "enormous pressure" from the Bush administration to sign a so-called Article 98 agreement that would prevent Americans on Kenyan soil from being turned over to the ICC, said the convener of a New York-based coalition comprised of 2,000 groups worldwide that support the International Criminal Court.

The US is threatening to cut an unspecified amount of military aid to Kenya unless the Kibaki government signs an Article 98 agreement. The confrontation is occurring now because Kenya recently ratified the treaty that establishes the world’s first permanent war-crimes court.

The ICC support group is urging Kenya to stand firm against US demands. But William Pace, convenor of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, acknowledges that "Kenya has to consider the threats to the welfare of its people."

The US has already retaliated against several countries, including Tanzania and South Africa, that have refused to guarantee immunity to US nationals. Hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance have been cut in those cases, according to Mr Pace.

The punishments do not always involve strictly military aid. Ecuador lost about $10 million in US support for elementary schools and child immunisation, Mr Pace reports.

Washington worries that its soldiers serving abroad could become targets frivolous or politically motivated prosecutions through the ICC. The Bush administration withdrew US support for the court, which began operations three years ago, and has been campaigning hard for Article 98 exemptions for US citizens. A total of 99 countries have signed such deals.

The coalition supporting the court praised Nairobi for ratifying the ICC treaty last month, saying Kenya "continues to play a leadership role in peace-building in the most troubled areas of Africa."

SOURCE: http://www.nationmedia.com/eastafrican/current/Regional/Regional9.html

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