NAIROBI (AA) - The Kenyan National Assembly voted late Thursday in favor of withdrawing from the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Legislators from the ruling Jubilee Coalition of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto, who constitute a majority in the legislature, voted overwhelmingly to free Kenya from the obligations of the Rome Statute.
The move will see Kenya petition the UN Security Council in the next 30 days to approve its withdrawal, which if granted by the global body, can only take effect after twelve months.
The parliament had been recalled from recess to discuss the issue.
Lawmakers from the Cord Coalition opposed the motion tabled by the ruling coalition's legislators and eventually boycotted the vote.
The acrimonious debate in the National Assembly, which was aired live on national television, saw opposition legislators put up a spirited argument against the move arguing this would hurt Kenya’s international standing.
Jakoyo Midiwo, the deputy leader of minority in the Assembly, dismissed the move as "a shame to the country."
He said Kenya was not a failed state, insisting that because of past cases of injustice against Kenyan citizens, the country needed "a big brother such as the ICC to keep it in check."
However, Aden Duale, the leader of the parliamentary majority, argued that the ICC had undermined Kenya’s sovereignty by targeting its president and his deputy.
The two leaders, together with a former radio presenter Joshua Arap Sang, are accused of crimes against humanity arising from the post-election violence in Kenya that left more than 1,000 killed and more than 500,000 displaced.
- Unaffected
In an immediate reaction, the ICC issued a statement saying the move will not affect the judicial process which is set to begin next Tuesday with the trial of Deputy President Ruto and Sang.
President Kenyatta's trial is set to begin on November 12.
Maria Binti Kamara, an ICC official who has been leading an ICC team in Kenya over the last three years, told journalists in Nairobi that the trials would proceed as planned.
She said the ICC was in the process of setting up large TV screens in the North Rift, which was most affected by the violence, for members of the public to watch the court proceedings which will be beamed live from The Hague.
ICC is scheduled to hold on Friday a status conference in the case against President Kenyatta at The Hague to discuss among other things, the conduct of the proceedings, and the duration of the case, the sitting schedule and a request by Kenyatta to be present at the trial via video link.
A similar status conference on Ruto's case is scheduled for Monday.
More than 80 legislators have announced they will accompany the deputy president to The Hague in a show of solidarity.
The lawmakers have over the past few days thronged the Dutch Embassy in Nairobi to get visa ahead of their travel on Monday.
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