President Uhuru Kenyatta and First Lady Margaret Kenyatta acknowledge
greetings from Kenyan diaspora in Massachusetts, United States at Lowell
Memorial Auditorium on September 27, 2014. PHOTO | PSCU
Freedom fighters and founding fathers who made considerable
sacrifices to secure independence for African nations were well aware
their work was not done merely by the formal declaration of the end of
colonial rule.
Most early nationalists understood that
the continent needed to do much more to secure true freedom and that the
surest way to break the shackles of imperial domination was through the
pursuit of the unity of the African people.
Half a
century later, the work the founding fathers began is far from over as
any attempts to find a way to solidify cooperation among African states
have been met with stiff resistance by those who benefit from a divided
Africa.
However, we must accept the fact that the
problems the continent faces will best be solved from within rather than
through the prism of self-serving foreign intervention. We must find
ways through which we can pool resources in the pursuit of greater
prosperity for Africa.
Fortunately, there has never
been a more exciting time to be an African than now. Across the
continent, we see evidence of a region that is on the rise.
This
is not just evident through the impressive economic growth that has
been recorded across the continent. Africa’s rise is visible in more
subtle facts. School enrolment is at its highest rate in our history,
our dynamic youth are engaging in exciting innovations and embracing the
promise of the digital revolution in ways that are transforming our
economies.
The use of mobile money, admirably pioneered
in Kenya, has caught the imagination of policy makers around the world
and been adopted with success in many countries.
Yet
these gains will remain fragile for as long as the continent does not
jealously guard its sovereignty and assiduously work to secure its
freedom.
Africans are not a xenophobic race, we are
among the most welcoming people on earth. However, we want to engage
with the world on equal terms, not as the junior partner in an unequal
marriage.
In my speech to the African Union heads of state summit in October 2013, I spoke about the exploitation by institutions such as the International Criminal Court to advance the political agenda of those that seek to shape the politics of our continent.
In my speech to the African Union heads of state summit in October 2013, I spoke about the exploitation by institutions such as the International Criminal Court to advance the political agenda of those that seek to shape the politics of our continent.
My
stand that the cases brought against myself and my deputy were a
desperate attempt to use the court to take away the sovereign right of
the people of Kenya to decide who should lead them has since been
vindicated.
NO EVIDENCE
Prosecutors
at the ICC dropped the case against me after admitting a fact which was
transparently clear from the start that they had no evidence to sustain
any credible prosecution whatsoever but not before I was subjected to
the most gratuitous slander and character assassination.
It
remains my view that the case against Deputy President William Ruto and
Joshua arap Sang is an obstacle in the path of reconciliation in Kenya
and is singularly unhelpful.
Yet it should not be our
preoccupation, as Africans, only to lament about the designs of those
that seek to impose their will on us. Instead, it is important that we,
as a people, offer pro-active solutions.
As Africans,
we are obviously united in our desire to see peace and justice prevail
across this great continent. However, it is also our firm position that
those best placed to tackle the challenges we face are Africans.
This
weekend, I will lead a delegation to the African Union heads of state
summit and, in partnership with others, will propose a number of
amendments to the protocol on the statute of the African Court of
justice and Human Rights.
It is worth noting that the
African Union assembly, in a unanimous declaration in February 2009,
warned about the abuse of the principle of universal jurisdiction to
interfere in the politics of African countries.
Further,
the Constitutive Act of the African Union, adopted on July 11 2000 in
Lome, Togo, requires that African countries to find ways to settle
disputes through peaceful means.
The object of the
changes we propose is the creation of an African Court of Justice and
People’s Rights which will have original and appellate jurisdiction for
the trial, upon recommendation of the Peace and Security Council, of
anyone accused of committing war crimes, genocide and crimes against
humanity.
GREAT STRIDES
This
will be one of the institutions that can serve to insulate the
continent against foreign misadventure in addition to other steps
already taken.
We in East Africa have already taken
great strides in the establishment of an East African Standby Brigade
which can intervene in times of conflict and crisis. We will continue to
work with partners on the continent to pursue adoption of an African
Union Standby Brigade empowered to enforce the peace in times of
conflict rather than relying on foreigners with their complicated and
unknown agenda. The proposed African Court of Justice follows in this
vein.
There will be challenges but we are committed in
this journey because we are guided by our forebears such as the great
Ghanaian nationalist Kwame Nkrumah who told us that “we need the
strength of our combined numbers and resources to protect ourselves from
the very positive dangers of returning colonialism in disguised forms.”
The writer is the President of Kenya
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