Kibaki urged to invite Sudan's Bashir

President Kibaki should invite his Sudanese counterpart Hassan Omar al Bashir to Nairobi to show that Kenya had not abandoned the Head of State wanted by the International Criminal Court.

Mr Mohammed Affey, a nominated MP and a former ambassador, told journalists at Parliament buildings Wednesday that the High Court ruling –obligating Kenya to arrest Mr Bashir should he ever set foot in the country—was “meant to please other people".

“President Kibaki should invite (President) Bashir and give him all the comfort,” the MP said. He added that the fugitive African strongman should be “made to understand that the government had not abandoned him”.

He said Mr Bashir had “over-reacted” when he expelled Kenya’s ambassador to Sudan, and recalled his envoy to Kenya.

The MP then tore into the judgment saying it was “disappointing” bearing in mind that “Kenya is at war".

“Our Judiciary must never operate in a vacuum. We expect that even as we interpret the Constitution we do so with the best interest of the Kenyan people. The judge must know that Kenya is at war,” the MP said.

“(The judge) made the judgment right in our territory at a time when he knows that we require all the diplomatic leverage that we need."

However, the MP said that even though the Judiciary was independent, “it must not be seen to be contrary to the country’s state of affairs”.

Asked if the timing of the ruling was wrong, he replied that the government had already taken a position and as a result the Judiciary ought to have made a ruling that was in line with the Executive and that of Parliament.

Parliament passed a resolution sometime last year for the government to pull out of the Rome Statute that establishes the ICC.

The MP urged the government to expedite its appeal against the ruling that has placed Kenya at a diplomatic crossroads.

“It is important that this appeal is heard and determined quickly. It must be quashed,” he said.

He said that as an MP he had a right to offer his opinion, given that there were businessmen and students residing in Sudan.

“I don’t understand what we gain from this judgment. It was not necessary,” Mr Affey said.

Sudan has said the ruling touched on its sovereignty and was not ready to allow the ICC to sour the relations with its neighbour.

The intergovernmental authority on development (Igad) has also warned that the ruling was a threat to regional stability and peace in Sudan.

Igad executive secretary Mahboub Maalim warned of negative effects on peace in Sudan if the warrant is carried out. Igad brings together Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan and Ethiopia.