Kenya’s cynical offensive against the ICJ
Al Jazeera
Undermining international institutions comes at a price.
When he was first elected in 2013, Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, along with his running mate, William Ruto, was awaiting prosecution at the International Criminal Court. They had been indicted for crimes against humanity in relation to the post-election violence that rocked Kenya following the December 2007 elections. Once in power, the duo set about an ultimately successful campaign using the resources of the state to intimidate witnesses and to frustrate the court into dropping the charges against them.
Now in the final year of his final term, it appears Kenyatta plans to end his tenure the same way he started it: with the country throwing another tantrum on the international arena and trying to bully another international court.
Just days before the International Court of Justice is due to deliver its judgment in a maritime border dispute filed by Somalia, the Kenyan foreign ministry announced the country was “withdrawing its recognition of the Court’s compulsory jurisdiction” declaring it would “no longer be subjected to an international court or tribunal without its express consent”. In doing so, Kenya becomes one of a number of UN member states, including the US, that have withdrawn from the ICJ.