So Kenya is fully committed to global treaties? What of the Rome Statute?Daily Nation, Monday April 14, 2014 By Macharia Gaitho I was rather surprised the other day to hear National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale uphold Kenya’s commitment to international treaties and conventions. Mr Duale was on his feet leading the assault against a House Committee report on the Westgate Mall terrorist attack, when he rubbished the recommendation that the Dabaab refugee camp in Garissa be closed down. The garrulous Majority Leader was emphatic that there was no way the government would arbitrarily close down the refugee camps and send the inhabitants back to Somalia. He pointed out that Kenya was a signatory to and bound to respect Geneva Convention protocols relating to guarantees of refuge and security for victims of armed conflict. That was very rich coming from the man who is the mouth, ears and eyes of the Jubilee Government in the National Assembly. The oft-stated position from government mouthpieces is that UN and other international conventions, agreements and treaties are colonial and imperialistic. All sorts of characters have been despatched up and down the country to preach the gospel that Kenya is a sovereign state not bound by agreements that allegedly work against national interests. Or, at least, the interests of our leaders who may be suffering some ‘personal challenges’ after falling on the wrong side of internal laws to which Kenya is a signatory. Envoys have been sent globe-trotting at taxpayers’ expense to lobby other leaders on the continent for a threatened mass African withdrawal from the ICC. Mr Duale has provided one of the most strident voices against the ICC and the trials facing President Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto. So why has the Majority Leader suddenly realised that Kenya cannot ignore or trash international treaties? I wonder whether his support for refugees from Somalia, who, he thinks, must be protected under the Geneva Convention, even if they are suspected to harbour terrorist elements, will extend to support for the trials facing Kenyan leaders at The Hague.
Posted on: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 18:41:40 +0000