In the resolution adopted Thursday, the EALA has recommended the cases should be heard by the East African Court of Justice (EACJ).
According to the resolution, the EALA has urged the East African Community (EAC) Council of Ministers to implore the ICC to transfer the cases to the EACJ and request the Heads of State to amend Article 27 of the Treaty to expand its jurisdiction. Such amendments, the resolution reads, “shall provide jurisdiction to the EACJ giving it retrospective effect” in order to accommodate the cases in question. Currently, according to the Treaty, the EACJ has no jurisdictions over cases with criminal nature like the Kenyan cases.
The Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers, Musa Sirma, told Hirondelle News Agency on Friday that he would present the resolution to the summit for decision by the heads of states.
The resolution in part requests that the process of transferring the cases’ proceedings from the ICC to the EACJ immediately begins on the basis that acts allegedly committed are in contraventions of the Treaty. Kenyans, Uhuru Kenyatta, William Ruto, Francis Muthaura and Joshua arap Sang have been charged with crimes against humanity for their role in 2007/08 post-election violence that left at least 1000 people dead and displaced hundreds of thousands.
On August 30, 2011, the ICC Appeals Chamber rejected a Kenyan motion asking to take back the cases for not having a mechanism to try them. In its motion, Kenya had argued that the adoption of its new constitution in August, 2010 and gradual setting up of new judicial structure meant it would soon be able to run the trials itself.
FK/NI/GF