Kenya considering ICC withdrawal, President Kenyatta says

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday gave the clearest sign yet that Kenya is leaving from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The President said the government will consider two motions passed by Parliament for Kenya’s withdrawal from the ICC.
He said the latest decision is informed by the failure by the ICC to reform so that it can have respect for national sovereignty of member countries.
“We have sought the changes that will align the ICC to respect for national sovereignty. Those changes have not been forthcoming. We will therefore need to give serious thought to our membership,” said the President.

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The Head of State, who spoke when he led Kenyans in the Jamhuri Day (independence day) celebrations, said the ICC showed a lack of impartiality when it dealt with Kenya and many more nations have recognised the same.
“We are not the world’s richest or most powerful nation, but we are entitled to an equal share of respect for our nationhood, our sovereignty, and our laws,” said the President.

Stable and just world
He said Kenya has been a champion of global institutions grounded in fairness and respect for national sovereignty as part of its pursuit of a more stable and just world.
“The Kenyan cases at the International Criminal Court have ended but the experience has given us cause to observe that this institution has become a tool of global power politics and not the justice it was built to dispense,” said the President.
He said the choices Kenyans make are the basis for how Kenya will steer its destiny as a sovereign state.

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“Our founders fought bravely to have the right to make choices free of external interference,” he said.
The President added that the ICC was a tool being used by foreign powers who wanted to undermine Kenya’s sovereignty.