How Nairobi gears to lead Africa out of ICC

If you want to get an inkling of what a head of state is going to say at international forum and the policy informing the standpoint, look closely at what the foreign minister and his or her advisers are saying loudly or in whispers.

And at what they are doing covertly and overtly in the lead-up to these conferences, both at home and away.

When President Kenyatta announced in Addis Ababa that Kenya was contributing Sh90 million to the establishment of an African court to handle international crimes, he naturally attracted attention to Kenya, himself and the continental body.

That is the way it goes; nobody talks about the usually drawn-out processes that culminate in such announcements.

Before the heads of state jetted into Addis Ababa for the African Union (AU) summit, their foreign ministers and teams of political and diplomatic advisers and technocrats had long been in the Ethiopian capital.

They pored over papers, cajoled, arm-twisted, phrased and re-phrased provisos and argued over them, readying them for the heads of state.

Before the heads of state enter the stage, the foreign ministers will have softened the ground by introducing the issues at hand beforehand.

The case for expansion of the mandate of the African Court of Human and People’s Rights (AfCHPR) to handle international crimes, such as those Deputy President William Ruto faces, is championed by Nairobi.

But it is the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ms Amina Mohamed, who leads her team of bureaucrats in preparing the ground for Nairobi and the incoming heads of state.

BEGAN IN MALABO

For Ms Mohamed, the current campaign began during the AU summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, last June. The Malabo Protocol was to be signed last week.

It was not. Ms Mohamed managed to get 11 out of the required 14 members of AfCHPR to sign in support of the expansion of the court’s mandate to include handling crimes against humanity.

AU’s membership stands at 54 while the membership of the court stands at 27. Ms Mohamed still has a lot of work to do to get the remaining three signatures.

And watching and listening to Ms Mohamed, one would not have failed to notice that Nairobi has shifted gears and upped the ante after the International Criminal Court (ICC) dropped the case against President Kenyatta.

Beginning September of 2013, her argument was that a sitting head of state and deputy should not be tried until after their terms.

The President is free, but Mr Ruto’s case is still pending in court.

Ms Mohamed argued in Addis that the case against the Deputy President poses a serious threat to Kenya’s peace and stability and greatly undermines the gains Kenya has made in reconciling communities that were adversely affected by the post-election violence of late 2007 and early 2008.

After reeling off figures to show how government had used Sh32 billion in resettling internally displaced people, she made Nairobi’s point:

“We believe that Africa is able to find lasting solutions to its problems by operationalising the African Governance Architecture by strengthening its supporting institutions.”

She then encouraged AU to consider signing the Malabo Protocol.

YET TO BE WON

If you ask her, as did BBC’s Zeinab Badawi in 2013, she will tell you Nairobi is co-operating fully with ICC but, of course, African countries, and Kenya is one, have a right to reconsider their relationship with the court.

Deciphered, that means Nairobi is ready to lead AU out the ICC door. The Malabo Protocol is only a battle in the war to get AU out of the ICC door. It is yet to be won.

But, as a seasoned diplomat, Ms Mohamed will know that in service of country and government, she will win some and lose some.

So she should take pride in the fact that Nairobi will host the 10th World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference in December.

The words of Chairman Jonathan Fried of WTO General Council last December, in conveying the acceptance of Kenya’s offer to host the forum, would have pleased Nairobi:

“… The offer of Kenya has been favourably received by the membership as a whole since the beginning of the process. Kenya has indeed proved to be attracting consensus throughout my consultations … Let me warmly thank and congratulate Minister Amina Mohamed and the Government of Kenya for this successful offer.”

Yes, modern diplomacy seeks trade and business opportunities. In diplomatic and trading terms, there is no cleaner bill of health than hosting WTO. It deals with the rules and agreements that govern global trade.

Mr Opanga is a media consultant

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