6 - 26 November 2015

1. Kenya  and the ICC – a new threat to the Rome Statute

Privately Owned Media

Kenya's good cop, bad cop act at the ICC (The Hague Trials, website, November 25 2015)

• Kenya is sending mixed signals when it comes to the ICC.
• Its top diplomat says Kenya has no plans to pull out of the ICC, yet its parliament is about to debate a bill seeking to repeal the Rome Statute.
• Arguably, Kenya’s threat to push out of the ICC may be a bluff – according to an interview with the country’s cabinet secretary for foreign affairs, Amina Mohamed.

IDPs oppose govt bid to save Ruto from ICC (Daily Nation, independent Kenyan-based paper, November 24 2015)

• According to some of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Western Kenya, the cash [used by the government for the Ruto case] should have been used to compensate them.
• That money (up to Sh100 Million) has been used to sent a strong government delegation to The Hague in order to seek a review of a rule that allows admission of evidence by uncooperative witness.

Kenya issues threat to pull out of ICC (Daily Nation, independent Kenyan-based paper, November 22 2015)

• Bothered by the failure to marshal enough support to amend the controversial Rule 68 to save Deputy President William Ruto and radio journalist Joshua Sang from the clutches of the International Criminal Court, Kenya has now threatened to pull out of the Rome Statute.
• Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed is expected to fly to New York City to protest that failure.
• It is also believed that Kenya may push towards pulling out of the ICC at the next African Union Summit in January.

Agencies a headache for Kenya in ICC plea (Daily Nation, independent Kenyan-based paper, November 16 2015)

• Agencies such as The Coalition for the International Criminal Court, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and International Federation for Human Rights have said they will not back the Kenyan position.
• These powerful international organisations that are opposed to its proposals at the Assembly of State Parties to the Rome Statute
• Kenya’s two requests to the ASP are:

o   That countries declare the rule allowing the use of recanted evidence by the prosecutor not to be used retroactively.

o   That an ad hoc mechanism be set up to audit the prosecutor’s system of identifying witnesses in the case against Deputy President William Ruto.

Govt on the Verge of Quitting ICC The Star, independent Kenyan-based station, November 11 2015)

• Kenya has inched a step closer to withdrawing from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, following the publication of a Bill to repeal the International Crimes Act.
• The National Assembly will now seek to repeal the Act, which incorporates the Rome Statute into Kenyan law and obligates the government to cooperate with the ICC.
• If the Bill is passed and assented to by the President, Kenya will become the first country to withdraw from the ICC.

NGOs accused of pushing Ruto case (Daily Nation, independent Kenyan-based paper, November 8 2015)

• Senators and MPs allied to the Jubilee coalition are accusing two NGOs of frustrating efforts to have cases against Deputy President William Ruto and radio presenter Joshua Sang in The Hague dropped.
• The two organizations are the Africa Centro for Open Governance (Africog) and Amnesty International

State Owned Media

ICC: Kenya ASP agenda to be debated Friday (K­enyan Broadcasting Corporation - KBC, State-Owned Radio Station, November 19 2015)

• Kenya has undertaken immense lobbying at Assembly of State Parties forum in Netherlands seeking to have the use of recanted evidence in the case facing Deputy President William Ruto reversed.
• Friday is critical for the Kenyan delegation at The Hague as the barrage of lobbyists consisting mainly of legislators and experts will know if the country’s position against the use of recanted evidence in Ruto-sang cases will be adopted.
• If the proposition was to fail, Kenya plans on organizing a massive walk out of African states from the Rome Statute.