Museveni attacks ICC at Uhuru’s swearing-in
Kenya’s fourth president Uhuru Kenyatta is sworn into office by chief registrar Gladys Sholei (L) as his wife Margaret Kenyatta (R) looks on. The ceremony took place in Nairobi yesterday. PHOTO BY AFP
What you need to know:
The President says the institution’s usually opinionated and arrogant actors using their careless analysis have distorted its purpose.
Kampala
President Museveni yesterday lashed out at the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying it has been “grabbed by a bunch of self seekers and shallow minded people whose interests is to mint revenge on those who hold opposing views.”
Without specifying the “ICC grabbers, self seekers and shallow minded people”, President Museveni said the election of Mr Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, Mr William Ruto, is a reminder to those using the ICC to blackmail others (African leaders) for selfish reasons that Africa is not a haven for them.
The President was among dignitaries attending President Kenyatta’s inauguration ceremony at Moi International Sports Centre in Nairobi yesterday. “I want to salute the Kenyan voters on one other issue—the rejection of the blackmail by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and those who seek to abuse this institution for their own agenda,” Mr Museveni said. He continued: “I was one of those that supported the ICC because I abhor impunity. However, the usually opinionated and arrogant actors using their careless analysis have distorted the purpose of that institution. They are now using it to install leaders of their choice in Africa and eliminate the ones they do not like.”
According to President Museveni, what happened in Kenyan election in 2007, where more than 1,000 people were killed, was not just regrettable but must be condemned. However, in his view, the external legalistic process happening at Hague is not the solution to the electoral violence or the African problems.
The President’s advice
He said: “Events of this nature first and most importantly, need an ideological solution by discerning why they happened. Why did inter-community violence occur? Was it for genuine or false reasons?” He added that instead of a thorough and thoughtful process, individuals are engaged in legal gymnastics!
Citing Uganda’s case, he said between 1966 and 1986, the country lost about 800,000 people, but it was not the ICC or the UN that helped the country deal with the sad chapter of the country’s history. “We only referred Joseph Kony of LRA to the ICC because he was operating outside Uganda. Otherwise, we would have handled him ourselves,” said President Museveni.
