Cord says push for AU court waste of resources

Cord leaders have dismissed the push by the government for the establishment of an African court saying it is a waste of time and public resources.

According to Cord co-principal Moses Wetang’ula and ODM national chairman John Mbadi, it was the decision of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto’s allies to have the Kenyan cases tried at The Hague.

Speaking in Homa Bay during campaigns for ODM Senate candidate Moses Kajwang’, Mr Wetang’ula also rejected the call by a section of Jubilee leaders for former Prime Minister Raila Odinga to testify in defence of Mr Ruto.

“We told them to go for a local tribunal and they told us to go to Hague; why spend taxpayers’ money on things that will not help at all,” said Mr Wetang’ula.

The Cord brigade got a warm reception in Ndhiwa constituency which is the backyard of Agostinho Neto, one of the MPs who have defied calls by ODM that they back the party’s candidate.

The two were responding to the Friday push by Kenya at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa for an African court to hear crimes against humanity cases.

The diplomatic camp was spearheaded by Mauritania and received strong support from the Kenyan delegation led by President Kenyatta whose case at the International Criminal Court collapsed last year.

The leaders said the request for Mr Odinga to go and save Mr Ruto from the case facing him at the Hague had proved that, indeed, the ODM leaders’ hands are clean.

Mr Mbadi said the money spent to take MPs to Ethiopia should be recovered from the leaders.

“We condemn in the strongest terms possible the use of public funds to propel Jubilee propaganda,” he said.