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"id": 89136,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Wetangula",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Foreign Affairs",
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"id": 210,
"legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. With regard to the Deputy Speakerâs sentiments, yes, we have enormous economic engagement and interest with the Sudan. But let me make it very clear as I clarify because hon. Sirma alluded to this. At no time has anybody in the Government of Kenya said that President Al-Bashir is innocent of anything. At no time, have we said that. It must remain on record. We have no capacity to pass value judgement on the guilt or otherwise of President Al-Bashir until he goes through the due process. As a lawyer, that is very clear. Southern Sudan, and the Sudan as a whole, has a lot of engagement with Kenya in relation to the question by the Deputy Speaker. If he just wants to know, we have about 40,000 Kenyans working in Southern Sudan alone, mainly teachers, contractors and business people. We have a lot of tea trade. The construction of the Port of Lamu is predicated on the economic interest between Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan and many other issues. I am sure you have heard the Minister for Roads pronounce that there is a road from Isebania, Kisumu, Kakamega, Webuye, Kitale, Lodwar up to Juba. That again is an economic lifeline. I do not want to speak for America, but I also know that she has very heavy engagement in the Sudan. She has an embassy and the President of American has a special envoy in the name of General Scott Gration, who represents him in the Sudan. That is a manifestation of how deep the relationship and the engagement between the two countries is. As to what they do between themselves, it is not for me to say. I am fully aware, according to what hon. Sirma asked, that President Bashir is indicted. I started by saying that and my Statement is very clear. Even the African Union (AU) Statement says that. It is important to understand that the ICC is no ordinary court. It is a quasi political court. That is why it is given to the Security Council to have the final word on who is prosecuted and who is not. Indictments are not enough. The Security Council can stop the indictments or the prosecution of any person at the ICC. This is the window that was created in the Constitution of that court to allay the fears of some of the member countries. Even with that, you may recall that President Bill Clinton had signed the Rome Statute, and President Bush came and struck out his signature. America is not a signatory any more. The ICC is a quasi political court. We must appreciate this. That is why the AU, being very keen and clear on due process, went to the General Assembly. They did not just tell us as member States to ignore. They asked the General Assembly and the Security Council to defer these warrants because of the issues of peace, security and stability in the region. The Security Council has neither said ânoâ nor âyesâ. Having waited long enough, the AU advised member States not to enforce these warrants and not to comply with them. We are a member of the AU. We are also a member of the Peace and Security Council of the AU. More importantly, let it not be lost to my colleagues that our most critical constituency in our international affairs starts with East Africa, then Africa and then the rest of the world. My colleagues who have been in diplomacy for a long time can tell you that if it were not for the AU member states, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) would not be based in Nairobi today. They wanted to take it away to Europe. That is a constituency we must constantly cherish. Mr. Speaker, Sir, hon. Sirma asked how President Al Bashir came to Kenya. He came by air!"
}