Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has called on African countries to review their membership in the International Criminal Court during the next heads of state summit. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
By NATION REPORTER
Thursday, October 09, 2014
African countries should at the next heads of state summit review their membership in the State Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said.
In a scathing attack on the ICC, President Museveni criticised the court for issuing summons against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, in disregard of an African Union (AU) resolution on trial against sitting African presidents.
He said the ICC was a “biased instrument of post-colonial hegemony” and did not have the value that they had expected it to be.
MISUSING THE COURT
He said those pushing for the hegemonistic agenda had been misusing the court.
“This resolution was taken to the Security Council, where there is no permanent member from Africa. There are only seasonal members,” President Museveni said during his Independence Day speech in Kampala on Thursday.
“That group did not see much merit in the collective wisdom of the African leaders; and the court summoned President Kenyatta on the eve of our summit here. Was the aim of ICC to disrupt our summit? Too bad for them!” he said.
President Kenyatta had applied to the ICC for a rescheduling of the October 8 status conference hearing on his case — where he was required to appear in person — so that he could attend the Independent Day celebrations in Uganda as an invited guest.
ICC judges, however, declined the request for postponement.