20100829
reuters

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya on Sunday defended its decision not to arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is wanted on genocide charges by the International Criminal Court, when he visited the country this week.

The government did not want to endanger regional stability, the Foreign Ministry said.

Bashir's visit on Friday to attend a ceremony to sign a new constitution has drawn criticism from around the world because as a signatory of the Rome Statute, Kenya is obliged to act on an ICC warrant of arrest against him for charges of genocide.

It has also drawn fault lines in the Kenyan grand coalition government with Prime Minister Raila Odinga's side protesting against the visit. The ICC is investigating Kenya's post-election violence of 2008.

"Kenya's obligation to the ICC notwithstanding, the country has a legitimate and strategic interest in ensuring peace and stability in the sub-region and promoting peace, justice and reconciliation in the Sudan," Richard Onyonka, deputy minister of foreign affairs, told reporters.

Kenya, which has the largest economy in east Africa, has borne the brunt of instability in the region with refugees streaming in over the years from unstable neighbours like Somalia.

Onyonka said the continued existence of a stable and viable economy relied heavily on the stability of Kenya's neighbours, including Sudan.

Kenya is a guarantor to the Sudanese peace deal signed in 2005, expected to culminate with a referendum early next year on whether South Sudan should become an independent state.