20101220
africanews

Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga said that withdrawing Kenya from the Rome Statute is not in line with the new constitution. His remarks came after parliament was sharply divided over the issue of forming a local tribunal to try the six suspects released by ICC chief prosecutor Louis Moreno-Ocampo.

The six have been cited as the major suspects of the 2007 post election violence.

Addressing parliament, Odinga said that withdrawal of Kenya from the Rome statute was unconstitutional. He noted that under the new constitution, all ratified conventions and general rules of the international law 'shall form part of the law of Kenya and the constitution’.

The Premier was backed by several MPs including the justice and constitutional affairs minister, Mutula Kilonzo who warned that the push to have the country withdraw from the ICC would complicate cases for the Ocampo six.

“Those who are panicking have not understood the ICC. If we withdraw, our own citizens will be hunted like chickens. We will be putting them under enormous pressure,” he said.

The issue of The Hague and Rome Statute has brewed bitter exchanges among parliamentarians with some saying that Kenya was better off without the ICC and a section of MPs saying that withdrawing from ICC was a waste of time.

Some legislators want a local tribunal to try the suspects, saying that Hague is too tough for the suspects. Those in the other camp believe that with proper and fair trials, The Hague has the capacity to indict the six and deliver justice.