NAIROBI
Several Kenyan civil society organizations have launched a campaign to lobby the UN Security Council, the African Union (AU) and other influential international bodies to block Kenya's withdrawal from the Rome Statute, which created the International Criminal Court (ICC).
"We have a civic duty to defend the collective democratic right of the Kenyan people against the push to remove Kenya from the ambit of the Rome Statute, as this position is not shared by many Kenyan people," Ken Wafula, a civil society activist and campaign leader, told Anadolu Agency.
Wafula, president of the National Association of Human Rights Activists, slammed what he described as "a propaganda campaign to mislead Kenyans into supporting the withdrawal from the Rome Statute and the ICC."
The National Assembly and the Senate – the two chambers of Kenya's parliament – recently voted in favor of withdrawing from the Rome Statue.
The motions were sponsored by lawmakers from the ruling Jubilee Coalition.
The opposition Cord Coalition put forth a spirited debate in both chambers against the proposal, ultimately boycotting the vote.
The move will see Kenya petition the UN Security Council within the next 30 days to approve its withdrawal request. If granted by the global body, the withdrawal could take effect within twelve months.
The vote came to protest the trial at the ICC of President Uhuru Kenyatta, Deputy President William Ruto and former radio presenter Joshua Arap Sang.
The three face charges of organizing and financing militia that participated in the 2007 Rift Valley violence that killed more than 1,100 people and displaced more than 600,000.
- Kenyans for ICC
The NGOs, meanwhile, operating under the banner "Kenyans for ICC," have launched their own counter-campaign.
"We intend to counter this move vigorously through meetings and conferences," Wafula said.
"We are at an advanced stage of convening a meeting of civil society organizations to take a position and move forward with this initiative," he added.
Among the latest voices to express opposition to Kenya's withdrawal from the Rome Statue is that of Archbishop Eliud Wabukhala.
The top Kenyan cleric has warned that the move would encourage impunity and hurt the country's democratic growth.
According to Wabukhala, the Anglican Church of Kenya does not support the lawmakers' move.
Other voices, however, continue to support Kenya's proposed withdrawal from the ICC, saying the international court should leave Kenya and its leaders alone.
Ordinary Kenyans, for their part, remain deeply divided over the issue of the ICC and over whether or not the president and his deputy should even be tried in the first place.
A new survey released by ICC Outreach Coordinator in Kenya Maria Mabinty Kamara found that some 60 percent of the Kenyan public still supports the ICC process.
But according to a recent study by research group Ipsos Synovate, the situation has changed drastically since Kenyatta and Ruto were elected in March.
Since then, the study found, the two men's approval ratings had fallen from 68 percent to 39 percent.
By William Oloo
Englishnews@aa.com.tr
