Government erred in inviting Al-Bashir

A statement by the government on Sunday sought to justify an invitation to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to the promulgation ceremony on Friday.

We expected the government, given our situation as a country battling with impunity, to acknowledge that the hosting President Al-Bashir was unhelpful and not in the best of tastes.

After the events of 2007 and early 2008 when Kenyans could not resolve an electoral dispute and resorted to killing each other, one would have thought that the government would see the need to rehabilitate Kenya’s international image and reputation.

Coming out of that shameful occasion, Kenya committed to punish those involved in the election violence. It became involved with the International Criminal Court, which has started investigations against the perpetrators.

Inviting Mr Al-Bashir does not communicate a determination by Kenya to cooperate with the ICC in the trial of her own suspects.

The government statement, read by Foreign Affairs assistant minister Richard Onyonka, sought to justify the invitation to Mr Al-Bashir on the basis that Kenya could not invite South Sudan President Salvar Kiir without extending a similar invitation to Mr Al-Bashir because it could be seen to be taking sides in the Sudanese situation.

This is not a persuasive argument. What is of greater value to Kenya, repairing its international image or cosying up to a war crimes suspect?

Already, ODM and PNU have taken sides on this issue in the usual formation. This is particularly irresponsible given that Kenyans expects the parties to work together to implement the new constitution — a tough task — and oversee a peaceful transition of power.

The government should acknowledge that inviting Mr Al-Bashir was unwise. It must also restate its commitment to its obligations to the ICC.