Kenya AG confident over Bashir appeal

Attorney General Githu Muigai has said the government is confident the Court of Appeal will overturn the arrest warrant for Sudan’s President Omar al Bashir.

Prof Muigai said the State Law Office has evaluated the ruling late last month by High Court judge Nicholas Ombija and is of the opinion that it was a "judgement in error".

He said the judgement was evaluated against international law, the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court, the Kenyan statute domesticating the treaty and the Constitution.

“The State Law Office is satisfied that a sitting head of state enjoys complete immunity from criminal prosecution at all times. We are satisfied that the Rome Treaty recognises that exception,” said Prof Muigai after a ceremony where the heads of the National Crime Research Centre signed performance contracts in Nairobi Tuesday.

“We have therefore gone to court to ensure that Kenyan law is interpreted correctly, not just because of this case but because it is important for future cases that may very well confront this country."

Prof Muigai said the State Law Office will also be setting up an Asset Recovery Agency and a Mutual Legal Assistance Authority.

The agency will recover money that might be stashed abroad while the authority will coordinate legal engagement with other countries.

He, however, said Kenya would cooperate fully with the ICC and enforce any warrants it issues.

“Kenya’s sovereignty must be safeguarded by this office by ensuring that Kenya, in complying with international law and obligations, does so within the strict confines of its Constitution and legal system,” said Prof Muigai.

The AG also dismissed suggestions that the Witness Protection Board is neither independent nor capable of doing its job.

He said the board headed by Ms Alice Ondieki has been working very well with the police as well as the ICC.

“We have cooperated fully with the ICC on all its requests for protection and acted on our own initiative without being prompted by anybody to protect witnesses who feel they are in danger,” said Prof Muigai.

President al Bashir is wanted by the ICC for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur.

He attended the ceremony in Nairobi on August 27 last year for the promulgation of the Constitution and Kenya was obliged to arrest and hand him over to the Hague-based court.

But Kenya is also bound by a decision of the African Union, which charges that the warrant ought to be postponed as enforcing it would complicate efforts to have peace in Darfur.

The application to have the High Court order for his arrest if he sets foot in Kenya was made by the Kenyan chapter of the International Commission for Jurists.

The ruling has caused a diplomatic row between Kenya and Sudan, with al Bashir threatening to expel the Kenyan ambassador in Khartoum and recall the Nairobi envoy.

He gave Kenya a two-week ultimatum to reverse the ruling.