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FILE - Sudanese President
Omer Hassan al Bashir
arrives at the promulgation
of Kenya’s New Constitution
at the Uhuru Park grounds on
August 27, 2010 in Nairobi (AFP)
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The
Sudanese government on Monday night took the surprise step of asking the Kenyan
ambassador in Khartoum to leave the country after a High Court judge in Nairobi
ordered the government to arrest president Omer Hassan al-Bashir.
Bashir is wanted by the International
Criminal Court (ICC) based in The Hague since 2009 on ten counts of war crimes,
crimes against humanity and genocide he allegedly masterminded in Sudan’s
western region of Darfur.
African nations rallied behind Bashir
and the African Union (AU) issued several resolutions directing its members not
to cooperate with the court in apprehending the Sudanese leader.
Kenya, an ICC state party, allowed
Bashir in August 2010 to visit drawing strong rebuke from Western nations and
rights groups. It also angered the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) headed by
Prime Minister Raila Odinga which shares the coalition government with arty
National Unity (PNU) led by president Mwai Kibaki.
In November 2010 the Kenyan High Court
received a request from the local chapter of the International Commission of
Jurists (ICJ) seeking to compel the government to execute the arrest warrant
against Bashir should he visit again.
The court today dismissed the
government’s argument that the ICJ has no standing to make such a request.
“I am satisfied that the applicant
(ICJ-Kenya) has locus standi [the right to appear before a court] to seek the
orders because Kenya is obligated to arrest him being a member state to the
Rome Statute,” Judge Nicholas Ombija said in his ruling.
"The matter raised by the
applicant and the orders sought are justifiable.... The application is thus
tenable in law. I grant the orders sought and direct the minister of internal
security to arrest President Bashir should be set foot in Kenya in
future," Judge Nicholas Ombija said in his ruling.
Kenyan media on Tuesday quoted the
foreign minister Moses Wetangula as being critical of the ruling, describing it
as a "judgment in error" that "clearly shows the insensitivity
of the court to international relations".
It is not clear if the Kenyan
government intends to appeal today’s decision.
The ICJ has applauded the ruling and
warned that President Kibaki and Attorney General would be in contempt of the
Kenyan Courts and the Rome Statute if they did not comply.
"If the government does not
execute this court warrant, it will not only be failing in its obligations as
set out in the Rome Statute but also putting unnecessary and undue strain on
the already bruised human rights records of the country after post-election
violence serious crimes," said ICJ Deputy and Programmes Director Mwaura
Nderi.
Sudan initially sought to downplay the
court’s decision saying it will not affect its bilateral ties with Kenya and
that it was more related to internal politics on dealing with the ICC.
"The bilateral ties are
deeply-rooted and are governed by the charter of the African Union. We are
waiting for the outcome of the contacts between Khartoum and Nairobi,"
Sudanese foreign ministry spokesperson Al-Obaid Marawih said at a news
conference on Monday.
The foreign ministry in Khartoum also
said that the court’s decision is closely linked to successes achieved by
Bashir in visiting other countries including state parties like Kenya.
The statement went on to say that the
ICC prosecutor has failed to convince the member states in the Rome Statute of
arresting Bashir and other figures wanted by the court including those in
relation to the Libya situation.
In separate statements to the
London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper Marawih cleared the Kenyan government
from responsibility for the court’s decision.
“It is difficult to say that the
decision [is coming] from the state, but a court’s decision, and the prosecutor
is not the executive, but the call was from the Kenyan branch of a European
organization” Marawih said.
He added that a group of activists
previously tried to persuade the Kenyan government and pressure it to adopt a
political decision, and when they failed they sought a judicial ruling.
But in a matter of hours Khartoum
decided to take a tougher stance.
“The Sudanese government has ordered
the Kenyan ambassador to leave the country within 72 hours” Marawih told Agence
France Presse (AFP).
“They have also ordered the Sudanese
ambassador to leave Kenya and return to Khartoum,” he added.
An opposition leader in Sudan
suggested to Sudan Tribune that Bashir may have personally ordered the
expulsion.
“Now Bashir is in charge, he reacts
and doesn’t think and nobody can dare to talk him off, especially when it comes
to himself and the ICC,” said the opposition figure who asked not to be named.
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