IGAD asks ICC to postpone Uhuru Kenyatta's trial

By Taddeo Bwambale

THE Inter-Governmental Authority on Development has asked the International Criminal Court to postpone the trial of Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta at The Hague, until he leaves power.

The IGAD Executive Secretary, Ambassador Mahboub Maalim on Wednesday warned that the trial would weaken Kenya and the region, in the wake of terror attacks from the Al-Shabab.

“I am here to say that this is no time to weaken a country and weaken a region by removing its President for trial,” said Maalim, in a tersely worded statement.

“We believe that this prosecution, should it be needed, must take place at the end of Uhuru Kenyatta’s Presidency. The evidence and witness statements can be taken and safely stowed away until then,” Maalim said.

The envoy said the Horn of Africa was in the midst of ‘a critical battle to beat the Al Shabaab terrorists in Somalia’ and that it was prudent to preserve the security of the region by preventing any further spread of the radical disease.

“The world is fighting a terrible battle against radical insurgent terrorists intent on destroying our way of life. The Horn of Africa and East Africa is a critical theatre in that same war,” he said.

“The International Criminal Court must act now to postpone these proceedings in the best interests of this global battle and the immediate struggle for peace and security in our region of East Africa and The Greater Horn.”

IGAD is an eight country security, trade and development bloc in Eastern Africa comprising of Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti and Eritrea. 

It aims to assist and complement the efforts of the member states to promote and maintain peace and security in the region; achieve food security and environmental protection; and achieve greater economic integration and cooperation.

Kenyatta is currently chairman of the East African Community and Rapporteur of IGAD.

Ambassador Maalim, who is attending the trial proceedings on Wednesday, said his presence was a show of solidarity to Kenyatta by the Greater Horn of Africa and IGAD member states. 

He stated that his presence at The Hague was not intended to interfere with or criticise the jurisdiction of the ICC or its resolve to prosecute suspects.

“Instead, my presence here carries a single intent- to represent the need to preserve the collective strength of our region in our ongoing battle against radical insurgent terrorism in East Africa, a region that faces a clear and present threat to our security, in exactly the same way that has led to a coalition of forces currently bombing ISIL in Iraq,” Maalim stated.

The envoy argued that Kenyatta was ‘entirely innocent until proven guilty’, and commended his decision to attend his trial.

IGAD is the principal supporter of the Federal Government of Somalia through the AMISOM peace and security initiative, and expanded its activities in 2008 with initiatives to improve the investment, trade and banking environments of member states. 

IGAD succeeded the earlier Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD), founded in 1986 by Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya, following recurring and severe droughts and disasters between 1974 and 1984 that caused widespread famine, ecological degradation and economic hardship in the East Africa region.