President Uhuru Kenyatta with politicians who had accompanied him to The Hague for the status CONFERENCE on his crimes against humanity case. FILE PHOTO |   DPPS
NEW HAVEN, USA
It is up to the International Criminal Court’s judges to decide whether the Kenyan Government is cooperating in the investigation of President Uhuru Kenyatta, Cord leader Raila Odinga has said.
Mr Odinga, who was speaking at Yale University, said prosecutor Fatou Bensouda maintained that the Kenyan Government had not cooperated, while Attorney-General Githu Muigai asserted that the government had provided all the information asked for.
“Where I’m standing, I cannot tell between the two who is lying or telling the truth. It’s something we leave to the court to decide,” he said.
Mr Odinga spoke on President Kenyatta’s case in response to a question from the Nation following a speech he delivered in the Ivy League university.
He said at the outset of his response that it was “not necessary” for Mr Kenyatta to declare he was temporarily ceding power to Deputy President William Ruto before he travelled to The Hague for the ICC status CONFERENCE on his case.
The Cord leader said Kenya’s Constitution provided that the Deputy President should take charge when the President was out of the country.
He also cited — but did not comment on — President Kenyatta’s position that the ICC case is a personal issue and not a national issue.
ECONOMIST EDITIONS
In his speech, Mr Odinga tied Africa’s future to the continent’s ability to share opportunities and produce of the land fairly and equitably, ensuring inclusivity and holding FREE, fair and credible elections.
President Kenyatta’s crimes against humanity case at The Hague arises from the 2007 presidential election results.
Mr Odinga’s Coca-Cola World Fund at Yale Lecture was titled Afro-Optimism — Has the Pendulum Swung Too Far?
The question refers to cover stories in two EDITIONS of the London-based Economistmagazine.
The first, from March 2000, described Africa as “The hopeless continent.” The other, in December 2011, was headlined “Africa Rising.”
The sharp shift from pessimism to optimism was largely justified, Mr Odinga said, noting in particular the declines in malaria deaths, HIV infection rates and child mortality.
At the same time, he said, life expectancy was increasing, real incomes were rising and democratic elections were becoming the norm.
He appealed to leaders to learn what the continent did right in those 10 years and carry on with them. “So much has changed between 2000 when the Economist declared Africa “a Hopeless Continent” and December 2011, when the same magazine proclaimed “Africa Rising,” with a real chance to follow in the footsteps of Asia.
He paid particular attention to issues of democratisation, equity, sharing of wealth and ending corruption as insurance against relapse into the misery and hopelessness of the past years.
PITCHED FOR DEVOLUTION
The opposition leader said the gains were products of progress on the political front, STRESSING that the continent’s “democracy dividend” must not be reversed.
He pitched for devolution of power and resources as that held the key to Africa’s stability and prospects for growth.
“Inclusivity must be the name of the game. We must decentralise and devolve power and resources equitably to all our citizens. We must spread the benefits of growth.”
Mr Odinga, who was Prime Minister in the Grand Coalition government, called on leaders to tackle inequality “as a matter of priority”.
He blamed inequality and lack of access to opportunities for some of the conflicts re-emerging in previously stable African nations like Central African Republic.
He said the experience of the last 10 years clearly showed what worked and what did not and the continent had no reason to fail again.
He SINGLED out greater democratisation and involvement of citizens in public affairs as the reasons for the great strides the continent had made on the economy.
With economic growth across the continent, he said, Africa needed to INVEST in far reaching economic reforms and reign in corruption, tribalism, nepotism and patronage.
“Africa must particularly learn to hold FREE, fair and transparent elections. Every vote must count. Every vote must be counted. Most of Africa’s political problems start at the polls,” Mr Odinga said.
He is in Yale at the invitation of the university’s Macmillan Centre for International Affairs.
Describing himself as an “Afro-optimist,” Mr Odinga declared: “Despite persistence of the old habits, change is taking place at a dizzying pace all over Africa.”
Kenya is a technologically advanced country, he said, citing its creation of the M-Pesa mobile MONEY TRANSFER system and the fact that “mobile-phone penetration stands at 80 per cent for people over 15”.