And Kenya Moves a Step Back…

True to James Gathii’s comment to my last post, the Prime Minister of Kenya, Raila Odinga, has made it clear that Kenya won’t be withdrawing from the ICC anytime soon:

Kenya’s prime minister on Thursday dismissed as futile a motion by lawmakers to withdraw from the statute establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC) – a move intended to head off the trial of senior political figures.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo last Wednesday named six Kenyans he considers most responsible for the violence that claimed more than 1,100 lives in the wake of December 2007 disputed elections.

Uhuru Kenyatta, deputy prime minister and son of Kenya’s first president, and William Ruto – who has been suspended from his post as higher education minister pending a corruption probe – were the two highest profile accused.

‘The government isn’t pulling out … because this will be an exercise in futility,’ Odinga said, citing rules that would leave the ongoing cases unaffected by Kenya’s withdrawal.

Once again: if the Kenyan MPs want to try the suspects locally, all they have to do is, you know, actually get around to doing it.