Sudan lobbies African members to quit ICC

Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta is in Sudan for a two-day official visit in order to bolster bilateral ties.

Kenyatta began the visit on Saturday at the invitation of President Omar al-Bashir.

This visit comes days after Sudan issued a call to all African countries to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Sudan’s foreign minister Kamal Ismail said, “Kenya is a member of the African Union, which has taken a collective decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. It’s a question related to Kenya. The question of when Kenya will decide to withdraw is a decision that is up to Kenya.”

Sudan has long lobbied African members to quit the Hague-based court which it accuses of being discriminatory against African leaders. Its president is wanted by the court for war crimes.

The ICC has however faced increasing challenges in pursuing prosecutions.

Since coming into force in 2002, the court has struggled to apprehend high-profile leaders like Bashir.

Already three African countries, Burundi, South Africa and the Gambia have declared their intentions to withdraw.

Kenya is yet to begin the formal procedure to pull out of the ICC, despite all cases against six Kenyans including Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto being dismissed by the court.